Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV
by Liquid
Summary: When the President's daughter is kidnapped by a dangerous religious cult, US Agent Leon Kennedy is sent to a remote village in Spain to rescue her. However, an ancient evil has been awakened in this place, and Leon will quickly learn that none of his past trials have prepared him for the nightmares that he must now face alone.
1. Chapter 1 First Family Crisis

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter One: First Family Crisis**

 _ASHLEY GRAHAM KIDNAPPED: RUMORS CONFIRMED_

 _The New York Times Evening Edition, October 1st, 2004_

 _Early this morning during a press conference on Capitol Hill, White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan finally made an official comment addressing the rumored disappearance of Ashley Graham, the twenty year old daughter of President Andrew Graham, who was first speculated as missing over a week ago from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she is an Undergraduate Student._

 _Beginning with a report to Campus Security from Ms. Graham's roommate when her car was discovered abandoned with doors open, rumors of a potential kidnapping have been circulating through the media like wildfire, but without an official explanation from the White House until the surprise press conference this morning. According to Mr. McClellan, it has been confirmed that Ashley Graham has indeed been kidnapped, however there has been no clues given as to the identity of her abductor, nor have any ransom demands been received._

 _More on this story as it develops._

"I still say it was a mistake to say anything to the press." President Graham said with an aggravated tone as he dropped the newspaper on his desk. "Look at this, the God damn… _vultures_ slap the story on the _front page_ , as if my daughter were some kind of… some kind of _spring fad_ to be gossiped about at the water cooler."

"I know that this is a sensitive matter for you, Mr. President." CIA Director Porter Goss replied, sitting down across from him. "But rumor control in these situations is necessary for two reasons; first, to show the American people that you are being transparent with them, which is far better than some jerk-off reporter finding out on their own... and to show the kidnappers that you are taking them seriously… we don't want them deciding that your daughter isn't worth the trouble, now do we?"

Graham knew damn well why they had to make an open statement, but that didn't mean he had to like it. Nor did he like the fact that instead of going out and finding his only daughter, the President was forced to sit on his rear inside the oval office _jaw-jacking_ with the new CIA Director. Any number of things could have been happening to her while at the hands of whoever it was that took her, and the more Graham thought about his only daughter being scared and alone at the mercy of some _scumbag_ , the angrier he became, to the point of slamming his fist down on the hardwood desk.

"To that end, I have some good news for you, Mr. President." Goss continued, opening his briefcase, and taking out a file folder. "As soon as it was verified by my agency that your daughter was, in fact, kidnapped, I took the liberty of dispatching my finest investigator to the scene. Unfortunately, his identity must remain _classified_ , but I believe that you will be pleased with the report of his current findings."

"Don't worry, I know _all_ about your predecessor's _pet freak_." The President replied, scoffing angrily. "And I'll ignore my personal objections toward allowing a _reformed terrorist_ out unsupervised, as long as he helps find my Ashley… so what do you have?"

Opening the folder and turning it so that the contents were oriented to Graham's view, the first thing the Director took out was a series of pictures that were taken of Ashley's abandoned car, along with a typed report of the findings. There was no evidence of anyone else sitting in the passenger seat, but the young woman's purse was found dropped on the floor beneath it, with the contents spilled out as if having been knocked over, and the keys were still in the ignition in the _AUX_ position while the car's battery was dead, meaning that it sat there for a long time before being discovered again… as if she had been attacked while in the middle of starting it.

Small black burn marks were discovered randomly on the padded white upholstery of the driver's seat, and even more so on the metal seatbelt buckle as if a strong electrical current had passed through the material. This suggested that the kidnapper reached in through the open driver side window with a high-voltage Taser of some sort, and used this to render Ashley unable to fight back while she was roughly pulled from the car, shown by the strands of long blonde hair that had become caught on the doorframe.

Finally, a set of tire tracks was left burned into the road nearby, with the pressure, width, and position suggesting a larger vehicle such as a truck or more likely a full size van. Traffic cameras throughout the city spotted such a vehicle leaving the vicinity around the time of her disappearance, and these cameras allowed it to be tracked all the way to the _Port of Boston_ , once the vehicle triggered traffic cameras once again. The vehicle in question, a large white cargo van, was found parked in the port's long-term section, with a deep rectangular impression left in the carpeted interior, like a box or a trunk.

"What are you saying to me, Goss?" Graham asked, balling up his fists as he was feeling enraged and terrified at the same time. "That some scumbag _electrocuted_ my daughter, and then took her to a shipping port in a _steam trunk_?!"

"There's more, Sir." The Director continued, next taking out a shipping manifest. "My investigator found that there were only two ships scheduled to depart that day, and that both of them were heading for the Port of Barcelona in Spain. He got aboard one of them and did a search, but discovered upon arrival in Spain that she had been transported onboard the other one."

This was unbelievable, the President thought while putting his hand on his forehead, especially after seeing a Polaroid photograph of a beautiful young woman with shoulder length blonde hair… who was _clearly_ Ashley… looking nervous while being ushered forward by a couple of middle aged men. The quality of the picture was cheap, and the words _chica caliente_ were written on the back, with a note in the report saying that the investigator retrieved it from a member of the _autoridad portuaria_ , who often took snapshots of pretty girls for _later use_.

"At last report, my investigator is tracking them into a rural province of Spain." Goss added, pointing to a highlighted location on a map of the country. "As soon as the _pretty old_ truck they took reaches its final destination, he is confident that he can infiltrate the area and successfully retrieve your…

"No!" The President interrupted, slightly louder than he meant to. "I'm glad your… _asset_ was able to track her halfway around the world, but his file was among the documents I had to look over when I took this office, and I read the _entire_ thing, Goss. Tell him to narrow down my daughter's location, and then back off, because… because I want to send one of my _own_ men to retrieve her."

With everything his daughter had been through, based on the report, Ashley was going to be frightened and vulnerable, especially after being rescued, so what he needed was someone who was both tough enough to conduct the rescue operation, and who he could also trust to not take advantage of his daughter. The only name that came to mind was Secret Service Agent Leon Kennedy, and… yeah, he was the perfect choice. Loyal, tough, smart, plenty of field experience with Raccoon City and that whole Starlight disaster… but most importantly _honorable_.

"I'm turning over the rescue operation to Agent Kennedy." The President said in a tone that meant the decision was final. "I want your investigator's whole report compiled and scanned into the digital network by the time he's briefed and ready to go. I also want you to contact Madrid, and inform the Spanish Government of the situation… if we're going to conduct an international operation like this, I want all the help we can muster."

Yeah, that was a good plan, Graham thought to himself as he began to relax a little now that things were actually starting to get done. The CIA Director looked a bit like someone kicked his dog when he found out that his _investigator_ wasn't going to be allowed to carry out the rescue operation, but they both knew that it was for the best, and that Kennedy was just the better choice all around… although the President _was_ impressed that he had been able to track her halfway around the world… damn fine detective work… for someone who ought to be shot.

"I'll have one of my analysts scan in the data for you, Sir." Goss said with a resigned tone. "But you should let my people at least lend support to your agent… after all, satellites and communication will let you stay updated on the status of the operation, and we'll be able to stay in contact in case anything goes wrong."

"Excellent, I like it." Graham replied, actually starting to smile after thinking about it for a minute. "Having both agencies working together will be good for morale, you know, not making Kennedy feel like he's all alone out there… and better still, after my daughter is safe at home, this will show the whole world how bad of an idea it is to try and _screw_ with the United States of America."

This plan was so great that the President almost felt sorry for whoever the poor bastards were that kidnapped Ashley. No matter who they were; terrorists, common criminals, pirates, it didn't matter… after all, his agent had put down William Birkin during the Raccoon City Outbreak, and Gillette Liquid onboard the Starlight back in '01. After dealing with all that, who else could possibly stand a chance?

"The rescue of my daughter is going to be his primary objective." Graham continued, looking at the pictures in the file once again. "But if possible, I want him to identify the people who took her… or their leaders if it's a group. I promise you, Goss, and I promise all the people of this great country that these criminals _will_ be brought to justice… one way or another."

"I agree completely, Mr. President." The Director answered, packing up the documents and putting them back into his briefcase. "If the people who took her are brave enough to mess with America, then they're brave enough to mess with anyone, so we need to make an example of them to discourage any other terrorist groups out there from trying something similar. But let's focus on the rescue first… I'll make all the calls, and put everything together, I just… I just hope Agent Kennedy is as good as you say."


	2. Chapter 2 Leon S Kennedy

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Two: Leon S. Kennedy**

Trying to catch his breath as he stumbled down the stone walkway overlooking the main hall of the Raccoon City Police Department, the Rookie Officer had to lean heavily on the guardrail to keep from collapsing, but there was no time to rest. Only a few hours ago Leon Kennedy's life had been pretty well normal, just another newly commissioned cop on the way to his first assignment, but now it was anything _but_ normal, with zombies, skinned monsters with long tongues, and worst of all… was the nightmare that was currently pursuing him.

 _Thump… thump… thump_ , the seven foot tall _almost_ human looking monster in the green long coat was walking so slowly, yet seemed to be constantly gaining ground on the Rookie, no matter how fast he ran. His short brown hair was caked with blood, both his own and that of the monsters that roamed the halls of the precinct, with plenty of the red substance being able to be seen on his uniform as well when he turned back to aim his pistol at the monster.

 _Click_ … the sound of his weapon clicking empty made a knot form in Leon's stomach, and to make matters worse, he was suddenly at a dead end against the wall when he turned to keep running away… meaning that there was no escape as the green long coat wearing abomination caught up to him. The Rookie couldn't move, paralyzed with terror as it pulled back its large fist; cold dead eyes locked onto him with absolutely no emotion on its face as the fist rocketed toward him until it took up his whole view.

 _Whack_! A crash of thunder was heard as the blow struck him on the jaw, knocking the Rookie of his feet, but when he landed on his back, he realized that he was no longer inside the halls of the RPD… in fact, he was outside… onboard a cruise ship. Rain was pouring down from out of the night sky, quickly soaking him as he struggled to sit up on the hardwood sun-deck of the cruise liner Starlight, but that last blow had made him so dizzy that he could barely move when his attacker reached down to grab him.

However, instead of the long coat wearing giant, it was a normal sized man who grabbed him by the shirt… a man with glowing yellow eyes, who roughly shoved Leon's head backwards so that it went underneath the water at the edge of the ship's overflowing swimming pool. Weakened and exhausted from the beating he had taken at the hands of this man, there was nothing the Rookie could do as his enemy held him under so that the only thing he could see was those horrible yellow eyes… and now he was running out of air.

Crying out in desperation and fear as his eyes snapped open, Leon was sitting up in his bed and breathing rapidly for almost a minute before realizing that the events he was experiencing had only been a dream, but this didn't stop him from sweating profusely while gripping the sheets so tightly that his knuckles were turning white. Looking over at the red illuminated numbers on his alarm clock, he saw that it was only a little past two in the morning… but the good news was that he was safe inside of his apartment… instead of those other places.

"Just another dream." He said to himself, turning to sit on the edge of the bed. "It's okay… it's okay."

The nightmares had started toward the end of 1998, when he had been a Rookie Police Officer on his way to his first assignment in Raccoon City, just in time for Umbrella's T-Virus to get set loose upon the population. By the time he had arrived, damn near everyone in the city had been turned into what could have only been described as _zombies_. Seeking shelter at the RPD with a young woman named Claire Redfield, he found that the police force had been decimated, leaving himself and Claire to fight their way through something straight out of that movie _Dawn of the Dead_.

A handful of survivors were discovered still alive inside the precinct, although most of them were killed at the hands of a long coat wearing giant, and the G-Virus abomination formerly known as William Birkin. In the end there were four survivors, no wait, Ada Wong, the Umbrella double agent had fallen from a walkway to her death just before the final escape, leaving himself, Claire Redfield, and William Birkin's young daughter, Sherry, as the only people to get out alive.

Raccoon City had been destroyed by a nuclear missile attack ordered by the President a couple days later, and Leon couldn't say that he was sorry to see it go, but at least the outbreak was over, and things could get back to normal… or so he thought. With the threat of Umbrella's T-Virus neutralized, the young man found himself being recruited into one of the many agencies of the United States Government shortly after. Now known as _Agent Kennedy_ , his life and assignments became more and more normal, allowing him to work through the painful memories of his only night as a cop… until the spring of 2001, that is.

Handpicked for a joint mission with the newly formed _Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance_ , Leon was paired with a female Agent and sent to investigate the possibility of illegal materials being smuggled aboard civilian ships by the crumbling Umbrella Corporation, under the guise of being a newlywed couple. What he found onboard the Starlight, however, was Tobias and Gillette Liquid, another newly married couple who turned out to be far more dangerous than anything Leon had encountered back in Raccoon City.

Revealing themselves to both actually _be_ Bio-Organic Weapons, themselves, the two of them infected the entire ship with an aerial version of the T-Virus, and in less than an hour every man and woman onboard the Starlight had been reduced into a feral zombie. With unexpected backup from Barry Burton, Director of the BSAA, and some even _less_ expected assistance from yet _another_ BOW, the group managed to eliminate Gillette Liquid just as the ship was starting to sink… but Tobias was still alive.

After giving the Agent what was easily the worst beating of his life, this man with glowing yellow eyes tried to drown him in the Starlight's swimming pool, and he would have succeeded if not for Barry's last minute interference. The ship went down, but not before Leon was able to recover a computer that had a complete backup of Umbrella's entire data cache, and the information it contained was instrumental in the complete collapse of the once invincible corporation just a year later.

"Two in the morning, Jesus Christ." He grumbled, rubbing his eyes in order to see clearly. "Is it _really_ too much to ask for one _God damn_ full night's sleep?"

Doing a stretch with his arms over his head after standing up, the Agent walked across the cold tile floor of his small studio apartment into the kitchen, where he had to close his eyes again for a second when the light came on from opening the refrigerator. The total sum of all the contents inside added up to a couple beers, a mostly empty bottle of ketchup, and some leftover Chinese food that… he honestly couldn't remember how old it was. This shouldn't have been surprising, since he was a bachelor, so Leon grabbed one of the beers, and allowed the door to close itself as he walked over to the sofa in that sat against the far wall.

"To the Umbrella Corporation." He said with a snort, raising the beer can after opening it. "May you _all_ burn in hell."

A smile started to form on his face as he remembered how the corporation's stock plummeted after the truth of their illegal experiments finally became known to the public, but unfortunately… Umbrella's fall in early 2002 wasn't the end of the brand of bio-terrorism that they had created. Apparently someone thought it was a good idea to start selling BOW's on the open market, and Leon knew that he would have to become stronger all around if he was to combat this continued threat.

Determined never to be made as helpless as he was against Tobias onboard the Starlight ever again, the Agent became partners with a long-serving Agent named Jack Krauser, who taught him the finer points of hand to hand combat through martial arts, as well as how to be incredibly deadly with a knife. Unfortunately, Krauser was killed in a helicopter crash not long after their very last mission together in South America, so Leon raised his beer to his partner's memory as well, albeit far more respectfully than he had been while toasting to Umbrella.

Once the beer was finished, Leon wasn't nearly as tired as he had hoped, so he picked up the remote control, and turned on the small Television instead of trying to go back to bed. _DirecTV_ was too expensive, at least if he wanted any of the good channels like _HBO_ , so the Agent had to make due with the local channels… and of course, _nothing_ was on as he flipped through the dozen or so that could be picked up where he lived in the city.

 _Gilligan's Island_ , _Green Acres_ , _CHIPS_ , tonight seemed to be the night of reruns, not that he minded sitting through Gilligan's Island, or anything. The only other thing on was _NYPD Blue_ , but Leon found himself unable to watch detective dramas ever since finding out that Tobias Liquid had been the leader of Homicide Division back in Raccoon City before… whatever the fuck happened that turned him into that monster.

 _Riiiiinnng_! The sudden sound of his house phone ringing was enough to make the Agent jump a little, dropping the remote control, and then having to search around for the phone, since the nearby lamp's bulb burned out in a brief flash when he reached over to turn it on. Hoping that the caller would just give up after a few rings, Leon became more and more frustrated as he fumbled around in the darkness, his ears being slowly murdered by the ringing sound that happened over and over again, until he finally found the receiver.

"Hello?!" He yelled into the phone, perhaps a bit louder than intended. "What? Yeah, this is Leon Kennedy… oh… yes, Mr. President?"

Well, at least now the Agent was glad to have already been awake, since during the overly brief and vague conversation with the leader of the free world, he had been instructed to get dressed and report in immediately. Being part of the Secret Service was a pretty good gig as far as he was concerned, and the pay was a hell of a lot better than in his previous organization, but the drawback was that anytime the President needed to travel somewhere on short notice, or something crazy happened in some bullshit country on the other side of the world that no one cared about… well, let's just say that early wakeups were common.

"Yes, Sir, I'll be right in." Leon said just before President Graham hung up. "Well… as soon as my head stops throbbing."


	3. Chapter 3 The Middle of Nowhere

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Three: The Middle of Nowhere**

" _Que tal si escuchamos la radio_?" The Officer behind the wheel asked, pushing the button. " _Te mostraremos como suena la buena musica_."

Suddenly the _policia_ transport van was filled with Spanish music and sounds that made Leon feel like he was in some kind of an old movie… kind of fitting, considering the desolate landscape that they had been driving toward for the past couple hours. The Agent could definitely tell that it was early October, with how the tree leaves in this forest were changing colors, but it was really cold for this time of year, so much that the man in the front passenger seat had decided to turn on the heater since they were starting to be able to see their breath as they moved farther up the mountain trail.

Leon was sitting in the center of the middle seat, sharing the interior of the van with seven _policias de Madrid_ , each of them wearing a light blue jacket with the word _POLICIA_ in bright yellow lettering on the back. These men were the Task Force assigned to assist the Agent with his recovery operation, all of them handpicked by the Madrid Chief of Police, and every one of them carrying a _Glock 9mm_ pistol. Leon's own sidearm was exposed for a moment when he pulled his heavy leather jacket more tightly around himself to keep warm, although it was a Beretta, the same kind he had always carried, and… man, it was _cold_ in that part of Spain.

" _El no quiere escuchar nuestra musica_." The passenger laughed, turning the knob to change the radio station. " _No ves que es un vaquero_? _Vamos a escuchar algo de musica de vaquero Americano_."

For a moment there was static, and then all of the others cheered when the music changed, and now every Officer in the van was waving their arms and trying to sing along to _Redneck Woman_ by _Gretchen Wilson_ … in _really_ thick Spanish accents. The Agent couldn't help but laugh and shake his head at how into this song they all were, but then one of them nudged him on the shoulder to sing along… which caused them to cheer again when he joined in on the second chorus.

Yes, this was how his mission to recover the President's daughter began… well, no, it had _actually_ begun at about three in the morning a few days prior, when he was briefed by President Graham, himself, on the situation. Leon had to admit that he was a little skeptical about the Intel gathered by the CIA Director's mysterious _investigator_ , since it would have taken one hell of a detective to track the missing girl all the way from her university in Massachusetts, to the middle of asshole-nowhere in Spain, but that was where the Agent was headed as soon as the briefing and his coffee were finished.

It seemed a little odd that he would be chosen for such an operation, since Leon's areas of expertise were more along the lines of BOW's and corporate conspiracies, on top of the fact that he didn't speak a _word_ of Spanish… a fact that the _Policia de Madrid_ found especially amusing when they picked him up at the airport. Thankfully, word had already come down about the situation from their Prime Minister, so the Task Force was ready to go, and he was more than a little relieved to find out that all of them spoke English, for the most part… although they preferred to use their own language, especially when saying things that he was pretty sure were jabs at him.

Leon was grateful to have a full team for support, but it was odd to be working with others again, since for the last few years he had gone out of his way to work alone, especially since his track record with partners wasn't exactly shining. Ada Wong had fallen off a _really_ high walkway after trying to steal the _G-Virus_ sample from him during the Raccoon City Outbreak of '98, and he didn't work with anyone after that time until the Starlight disaster of 2001.

Agent Amanda Pricely had been his partner then, posing as his wife while they searched the cruise ship for evidence against Umbrella, but then Gillette Liquid infected her with viral spores, which resulted in Leon having to end her suffering. There was also Captain Cora of the Umbrella Secret Service, forced to join forces with him during the sudden outbreak, and he was really starting to like her… but then Tobias Liquid infected her with his own blend of the T-Virus, which resulted in the Agent having to end _her_ suffering.

But then there was Jack Krauser, who taught Leon martial arts and knife fighting, and who had fought at his side all the way through South America… only to die tragically in a helicopter crash shortly after. In fact, the only person who had _ever_ survived working with the Agent was Claire Redfield, the young woman who had survived Raccoon City with him… and who occasionally still occupied some of his more pleasant dreams. It was really too bad that things didn't work out between him and her, because _damn_ she was a good kisser… among _other_ things… could never let that brother of hers find out about _that_ part of their friendship, though.

" _Maldicion sea la radio esta perdiendo la senal_." The passenger grumbled, smacking the control unit. " _Supongo que realmente estamos en medio de la nada, eh_?"

Another report from the CIA's mysterious investigator had come in by the time they were ready to head out, and this time it was the police who were confused, asking if the senders were sure that the information was accurate. Not only was the location described as being in a remote Province, up in the middle of a forest-covered mountain, but the whole place was a privately owned holding of one of the old upper class families. According to the Officers, there was nothing up there but a village full of people who had decided to reject the modern world, and live a more simplistic lifestyle, sort of like the Amish in America, although not as sociable.

Well, that was just wonderful, Leon thought when the Police Chief's inquiry gave them to go ahead on the mission; not only was he stuck in a place where he didn't speak the language, but now he had to go and search for Ashley Graham inside of some kind of reclusive… hermit sanctuary. Oh well, at least someone who looked like _her_ would stick out like a sore thumb in a place like that, the Agent thought, taking out the photograph of the young woman that he had been given to use when making inquiries… really good looking girl, though.

"I think she's out of your league, cowboy." The Officer sitting next to him laughed, nudging his shoulder again. "But just between you and me… you think her boobs are real?"

"I really couldn't say." Leon replied while the other Officers snickered at this. "Ten bucks says you don't have the balls to _ask_ her, though."

The Officer laughed again, and now the others were making wagers on what the young woman's reaction would be if he did; some of them betting on her slapping him, while a couple bet that she would give him a good kick in the _testiculos_. A sudden bump in the road interrupted the laughter, and when the Agent looked up ahead, he saw that the road the van had now turned on in order to go even farther up the mountain was badly neglected from all the washout potholes, and overgrown with dying shrubs as if no one had traveled this way in a long time.

" _A donde diablos vamos_?" One of them asked as the road ahead got even rougher. " _Mala informacion probablemente."_

Leon had to admit that he was starting to doubt the validity of the Intel he had been receiving, especially since given the type of vehicle that the kidnappers had allegedly been driving when they left the port, it was unlikely that it could have negotiated this kind of terrain. Even their transport van was having a hard time of it, and had actually gotten stuck once, requiring all of them to get out and push until the rear tire was able to get out of the hole it had fallen into. Now it was even colder outside, even though the morning sun was supposed to warm things up… probably something to do with the heavy cloud cover.

Regardless of the weather, all of the heat inside the vehicle had been let out when they opened the doors, so now it was freezing inside as well. The van's heater wasn't exactly up to par, and at the rate that the road was getting worse, it was only a matter of time before they couldn't go any farther with it, but the Agent didn't want to contact headquarters just yet… not until he _knew_ the information was bad.

In addition to his sidearm and a couple other small useful tools he had been given for the mission, Leon had been equipped with a miniature satellite radio communications device that was actually a marvel of modern technology. The device was so small that no one would find it unless they knew what they were looking for, and it had been tested for use in almost every imaginable kind of weather and terrain. This way he could receive Intel updates while out in the field, and keep headquarters appraised of any new developments on his end.

Just when the trail seemed like it was going to be too much for the van, it suddenly leveled off, and then a man-made structure came into view. It was a bridge, made with heavy wooden planks and held together with iron bolts and joints, the structure was wide enough for a vehicle to pass over it, although it was kind of unsettling to look down at the flowing river that was at the bottom of the canyon that the bridge crossed.

On the other side of the bridge, the trail looked like it was a lot better maintained; actually starting to look like a road again, but for now everyone was looking out the windows, staring down at the rushing water below as the van's tires reached the first wooden planks. The bridge creaked and groaned underneath the vehicle's weight to the point where Leon was sure that they were about to fall through… but instead of falling to their deaths, the van just kept crawling slowly over one plank after another until everyone let out a sigh of relief when they reached solid ground again.

Everyone laughed a little now that the danger was over, but the mood was still tense as they started down the much better maintained trail that made a single curve around some trees before the first signs of human life were discovered at last. There was a house, well, more like an old fashioned log cabin sitting amongst the trees almost like it was a part of the natural landscape, but then something _else_ caught the Agent's eye. The trail ended right after the house, where the path became too narrow for vehicles to pass through… and sitting there, abandoned at the very end… was a vehicle that looked just like the one the kidnappers had used to transport Ashley.


	4. Chapter 4 Hostile Situation

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Four: Hostile Situation**

Well, it certainly looked like the vehicle that was spotted taking Ashley from the port, but it was in pretty bad condition, all banged up with scratches in the paint, probably from how terrible the roads were on the way up. On top of that, there was no reason for a community of people who lived in a minimalistic lifestyle to have such a thing, and now Leon was starting to become hopeful that the Intel from the CIA's investigator was accurate after all… so was it really going to be that easy? Was Ashley Graham going to be right there inside that house?

The idea of the kidnappers holding her right there in plain sight wasn't completely ridiculous, since no one in their right mind would have come all the way out there looking for trouble, nor could most vehicles have made the climb up the old mountain road, but the question was that now that there was a possible sight where the target might have been held… what was the best way to go about verifying her location? And if she was in there… how could they get her out safely?

"All right, there doesn't seem to be anyone around." The Agent commented, looking at the surrounding area with his compact binoculars once they had all gotten out of the van. "So, how do you guys wanna do this?"

"People in rural areas like this don't care for _policia_." The one who had been in the passenger seat answered, his breath visible as he talked. "I say you and me go inside, while my men spread out and surround the property, and… oh yes, one man back with the van… _no queremos conseguir multas de estacionamiento, verdad chicos_?"

The others gave a slight chuckle at this, and so did Leon, even though he had no idea what the Officer had just said. It felt like the temperature was dropping even more now as the sun got higher into the gray, heavily clouded sky, making everyone eager to get this operation over with, so as soon as they were ready, the eight of them split up. As planned, the driver stayed with the van in case a quick getaway was needed for some reason, and the five others started moving into covered positions on all sides of the house, while the Agent and the last Officer started carefully walking up the path toward the front door.

The front yard of the property was well maintained, although the grass was brown, but there were no wires or anything else to suggest that the place was hooked up to any kind of electricity, explaining why there were so many piles of chopped wood out front, since it would be needed to keep the place warm during the coming winter. Hell, autumn was cold enough, but Leon honestly _shivered_ at the thought of having to stay in a place like this while the snow was falling.

"Just to let you know, cowboy." The Officer said as they walked up the short, wooden stairs onto the front porch. "The people way out here probably _no hables ingles_ , so you'll have to let _me_ do all the talking."

"Hey, man, that's _fine_ with me." Leon replied as they reached the door. " _Anything_ that helps us find Ashley and get back to Madrid faster, sounds good."

The Officer agreed, and then cleared his throat before knocking on the door, only to have it make a creaking sound as it slowly opened in reaction. Both of them peeked through the partially opened door, with the Officer calling out who they were, and finally asking if anyone was home before stepping inside. As with the walls, everything inside of the house was made of wood, the floors, furniture… well, the windows were glass, and as the two of them moved through the short entry hallway, a bubbling sound started to be heard, along with the crackling of a fire.

A stone fireplace and chimney was at the far end of the open room just around the corner, with something bubbling inside of the large black cauldron… where a man was using a large spoon to stir around whatever was inside. This room looked kind of like a dining area, yet also like a living room for a family, since in addition to the wooden table and chairs there was a bookcase that was almost half full of what looked like old, dusty volumes, and a sitting area with more chairs over in the corner.

No sign of anyone else in the place, though, and after taking a moment to look and listen for other signs of movement, the Officer cleared his throat in order to get the man's attention. He didn't react to them being there at first, seeming focused on what was cooking in the pot, and looking like he wasn't the sort to entertain visitors too often… at least none from the _modern_ world. There were several days of graying beard stubble on his dirty face, and his plain, shabby clothes looked like they came from, well… a _really_ long time ago… as did this whole house.

" _Disculpe señor, estamos buscando una mujer joven_ … Leon, show him the picture." The Officer said, motioning toward him as they walked across the room. " _Su nombre es Ashley Graham, las has visto_?"

The Agent held out the picture so that the shabby looking man could take a look, but when he stepped toward them and saw the image, an angry look flashed across his eyes, instantly making Leon feel on edge for some reason, even though the man didn't look especially threatening. He said something, though, a long statement that seemed to greatly offend the Officer, who in turn simply scoffed at the man, before turning to walk away.

"Hey, what did that guy say to you?" The Agent asked, catching up to him as they walked back across the room. "Did he know anything about Ashley?"

"This _puto_ doesn't know _mierda_." The Officer replied as the man turned back toward the fireplace. "He said to get the fuck out of his house, and that he hopes that my mother gets…

Suddenly there was a _whooshing_ sound from behind, and then the Officer's words became an outcry of pain when something embedded itself into his back. It took Leon a second to realize what had just happened, but he realized when the Officer's light blue jacket started to get stained red with blood, that the object sticking into his back was a metal _hatchet_. The Officer leaned backwards with a groan before falling forward and struggling to catch himself on the window frame, while the Agent turned back around… just in time to avoid the same fate as a hammer flew past, missing his face by mere inches.

"Freeze!" He yelled, drawing his pistol just as the hammer was falling to the floor behind him. "Hey, I said _freeze_ , that means don't fucking move! _Stop_!"

He doubted that the shabby man could understand his words, and the Officer was in no condition to be an interpreter, causing Leon to suddenly regret always skipping Spanish class in high school, since he didn't even know how to tell someone to _stop_ in the language… of course, you figure the Officer's _policia_ jacket and the fact that the Agent was pointing a _loaded weapon_ at him would have been a pretty big hint. Then again, maybe it wasn't, since the shabby man was now picking up a spade that was resting over against the wall.

"Come on, man, just drop it and get on the ground." He said, gesturing first to the spade and then downward, hoping that the man would understand. "Damn it, I _don't_ want to shoot you."

But either the shabby man couldn't understand him, or just didn't give a damn, since he had the spade raised up in a threatening position, and was now walking right toward the Agent. A couple more times he ordered the man to stop, even going so far as to back up against the wall to try and avoid using lethal force, but the shabby man just kept coming; a wild look in his eyes as he got within range and raised the weapon above his head.

 _Bang_! A flash of light and noise, and the man groaned, dropping the spade as a bullet slammed into his shoulder, causing a red stain to start forming on his shirt as he stumbled backwards. Okay, _now_ he should understand, _regardless_ of what language Leon was speaking, and it was starting to look like the danger was over when the shabby man fell back against the table… only to grab one of the knives that had been left set out next to a plate, and growl like an animal as he lunged toward the Agent again.

 _Bang_! This time the bullet went right between his eyes, causing the knife to fall out of his hands as the man fell on his face, and… God it was so much harder to shoot a living person than it was with mutated monsters and zombies like back in Raccoon City and onboard the Starlight… but this man was _definitely_ no monster or zombie. Yes, Leon had shot humans before, but it was pretty few and far between… each one making him feel like a monster himself… Umbrella had shown him just how precious life was, and now… he had taken another one.

"Hey, are you all right?" The Agent asked, rushing over to the wounded Officer who was on his hands and knees. "Oh God, this looks bad… we gotta get you to a hospital."

"Yeah… yeah, we will." The Officer groaned. "He must have… he must be the kidnapper… maybe the girl is upstairs."

Leon hated to leave him wounded like this, even for long enough to search the rest of the house for Ashley, but he couldn't do both things at the same time… or could he? The others needed to know that things had gone bad, so he took out the wounded Officer's whistle and blew it several times so that the others outside would come running… if they somehow hadn't heard the _two gunshots_. The whistle let out a sound that was so sharp and piercing that it could have woken the dead, meaning that in a matter of seconds the other Officers would come running, which gave the Agent time to check out the rest of the house.

A single open doorway was on the wall behind the fireplace, and beyond that a creaky old wooden staircase leading to the second floor of the house, which consisted of a single open room. Three beds, dressers, and partly melted candles on nightstands in between, were the only things inside of this family-style bedroom, but what Leon _didn't_ see was Ashley Graham, nor the owners of the other two beds, come to think of it… so where was the shabby man's family? More importantly, where was Ashley if that wasn't the guy who kidnapped her?

Suddenly the sound of an engine starting reached his ears, prompting him to look out the window just in time to see the previously abandoned kidnapper's vehicle kicking up dirt as it tore off back toward the bridge. God damn it, that must be where the rest of the man's family were, and it explained why the other cops hadn't been heard coming into the house yet. It was okay, they were gonna cut off the other people's escape, and then…

 _CRASH_! The sound of a vehicle collision was heard from outside just as the front door of the house could be heard nearly breaking off its hinges as several sets of footsteps ran inside. Had the kidnappers tried to ram the police van? If the other Officers were now downstairs, then they needed to go after them before they got away, but something was wrong… the wounded Officer's whistle was heard frantically blowing as soon as the footsteps came in, only to be cut off by the sound of someone in agony… right before someone started running up the stairs.


	5. Chapter 5 No Way Out

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Five: No Way Out**

In Leon's best imagined scenario, the vehicle crash from outside had been from some of the Officers cornering and capturing the fleeing kidnappers, while the people rushing into the house were the others coming to give aid to the wounded comrade and reporting that the whole operation was a success. Unfortunately, it was not uniformed _policia_ that stormed up the stairs into the bedroom a moment later, but more men in shabby clothing… all of them armed, and with anger in their eyes when they spotted him.

" _Alli esta, el forastero_!" One of them growled, pointing an accusing finger. " _Atarlo como la vaca eso es_!"

Three of them now blocked his path to the stairs, holding up hammers, knives, and other improvised weapons as they slowly started forward. Aiming his weapon threateningly, and again warning them to back off, these people seemed even less afraid of the Agent's pistol than the first man had been, but he didn't have time to negotiate with them any further… not with the fate of the wounded Officer downstairs in question.

"Get back, or I'm just gonna start shooting!" He ordered, motioning for them to keep their distance. "I said get out of my God damn way!"

 _Bang_! He didn't have to kill them in order to get through, so with careful aim, Leon fired a shot right into the nearest man's leg, making him cry out in surprise when he fell over sideways onto the edge of the nearby bed. He got up pretty quickly, though, the shabby man pushing himself up and then limping forward to join the others who were still advancing… strange, though, that none of the other men had shown even the slightest concern for their friend when he was wounded.

 _Whoosh_ , the next closest man pulled back his arm, and tossed his knife at the Agent, with Leon wincing as he felt the very tip of the blade touch the edge of his ear as it flew past, the blade sticking into the wall behind him as he stumbled into one of the nightstands between the beds. Bringing his hand up to his ear reflexively, the Agent saw that it was bleeding when he looked at his fingers… but then he saw that there was some oil leaking out of the very _full_ lantern he had just knocked over.

Ashley wasn't in this house, and clearly these people meant to kill him just like the one downstairs had tried to, so without being able to think of another plan, Leon picked up the lantern, and tossed it at his attackers so hard that the glass shattered, splashing each of them with oil. _Bang_! This time when the bullet struck one of them in the chest, the shabby man reacted as the bullet's heat and friction ignited the largest oil spot on his shirt. The man screamed and started to panic, dropping his blade and flailing his arms, causing the fire to spread onto his friends, and soon they were all engulfed in flames.

The good news was that now that the flames were consuming all three of the attackers, they had completely lost interest in Leon as they bumped into things and stumbled into each other… however, maybe using _fire_ wasn't such a good idea in a house that was completely made of _wood_ , as some of the oil had splashed onto the floors and walls as well. Without any kind of fire-retardant technology from the modern world, the orange crackling pyre quickly spread across the beds and furniture, while the whole place filled with smoke, but the Agent had to wait until the burning men were far enough out of the way for him to try and make a run for the stairs.

So he crouched down while leaping forward, planning to springboard himself off the nearest bed's flimsy, hay-stuffed mattress before dropping down onto the stairs to avoid the flames, but instead of spring-boarding off the mattress, Leon could only cry out in surprise when his foot broke all the way down through the bed's frame, trapping him in place as the flames continued to spread. This was fine, he thought while grabbing onto the piece that held him, this was fine, and maybe… the wood was brittle enough… for him to break it apart… with his bare…

 _Crash_! Just as he was about to free himself from the broken bedframe, one of the burning men screamed while running right toward the Agent, but freeing his leg rather roughly from its prison while slamming him into the wall… only it was not a _wall_ that was behind Leon at the time, but a _window_. The glass shattered outward as the two of them fell, thick black smoke pouring out upward into the sky as the two men fell toward the ground.

 _Wham_! _Whump_! The burning man broke the Agent's fall as they bounced off the surprisingly well made awning above the house's front porch, and then again when they hit the ground below, where he was thankfully thrown away from the now motionless burning man. But wait… where were all the Officers? Dazed and a little dizzy from the fall, Leon stumbled to his feet, only to fall forward and end up crawling back over to the front door of the house, rubbing his eyes to bring them back into focus, only to discover that the wounded Officer was nowhere to be found.

But where were the others, he wondered as he stumbled back outside? The _van_ … where was the van?! Maybe all of the others had been so caught up in pursuing the kidnappers' vehicle that they were all gathered over near the bridge… yeah, gotta get back over to the bridge. Still coughing a little from the smoke as he pulled himself to his feet, the Agent picked up his pistol, and started moving away from the house, constantly looking over his back for any more of the hostile men that might have been approaching.

So, what the hell was this, anyway, he wondered as the house continued to burn? One of those crazy redneck families that killed and ate people like in that _Chainsaw Massacre_ movie… did they even _have_ those in Spain? Moving away from the property, and around the curve of trees following the trail, the support pillars of the bridge were a welcome sight, but something was wrong. Neither the transport van nor the kidnappers' vehicle was in sight, and there was smoke rising up from down in the river canyon.

"Oh, no, no, no!" He yelled, not wanting to admit to himself what he already knew had happened to the vehicles. "Please don't be down there, _please_!"

Not only that, but the wooden planks of the bridge were just… _gone_. More than half of the flat surface for walking was broken as if something had caused the whole thing to collapse, leaving only the support pillars themselves, which were _way_ too far apart to try leaping or climbing across. Stepping closer to the edge of the canyon wall, and looking down toward where the smoke was coming from, the Agent's fears were confirmed when he saw not only the crushed and mangled remains of both vehicles sticking out of the rushing water below, but also a couple bodies.

From there, Leon could see what looked like two of the men in shabby clothing, pinned underneath part of the wreckage as the water washed over them, as well as one that was wearing a blue _policia_ jacket, but… why was he the only one of the Officers in sight? Although the canyon was really deep, the water at the bottom was actually pretty shallow, allowing him to see everything underneath the water, but there were no other bodies, nor was there still any sign of the President's daughter.

" _Miralo, esta herido_." A voice growled from behind, making his mouth run dry. " _Agarrenlo_."

Slowly turning around to face the owner of the voice, the Agent gasped, aiming his pistol at the four additional men in shabby old clothes that were now moving slowly to surround him. One of them had an old fashioned looking pitchfork, while two of his comrades had hammers and a sickle, and the last one had a rope in his hands… what did they need a rope for if they were just planning on killing him? Oh well, as long as they didn't have the element of surprise, then their ancient methods were no match for modern firearms.

 _Bang_! Firing a shot right into the one with the pitchfork's arm just as he was about to throw the weapon, the shabby man groaned when it fell from his hands, but then it was Leon's turn to cry out when the man to his far left tossed his hammer. With a hard clang, the iron tool struck the pistol hard enough to make it fall from his grip, while also stinging the Agent's hands, but there was no time to pick it up again as the four of them rushed forward with weapons raised.

Ducking down to avoid a slash with the first man's sickle, Leon came back up just in time to spin around and slam his heel into the side of the next man's head, sending him falling down sideways just as the one who had been holding the pitchfork grabbed him from behind in a sort of headlock. The Agent had to struggle for a second in order to keep from being pulled off his feet, but then he brought his elbow up right into the shabby man's eye twice until he was forced to let go.

No matter how good of a fighter someone was, the odds of four against one were never good in favor of the lone man, so after giving that same attacker a solid palm strike to the nose so that he stumbled backwards and fell on his rear, Leon turned to make a run for it back toward the house, only to gasp in shock when he found himself being tackled to the ground by the other two men. He managed to get free just enough to head-butt the one that was pinning down his upper body, only to have his vision go white for a second when he got a real close look at the boot of one of the others that was still standing.

He was only dazed for a second, but it was long enough for the shabby men to force his arms together so that they could tie his wrists, while two of his attackers grabbed onto his legs. Once the Agent was tied up, the four of them worked together to pick him up in such a way that Leon couldn't get himself free no matter what he did, and now they were carrying him back toward the house, which was now completely engulfed in flames.

" _Lleva al pueblo_!" The lead man ordered as they went back around the first curve. " _Un regalo para Salvador_!"

It was then that Leon realized that they weren't taking him back to the burning house in order to throw him into the flames like he first thought, but instead slowly carrying him right past it. Now they were bringing him beyond the part of the trail that had become too narrow for vehicles to travel down, and somehow the Agent had a feeling that his troubles were just beginning.


	6. Chapter 6 Salvador

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Six: Salvador**

Catching one last glimpse of what remained of the bridge before being carried off into the forest by the four men in old fashioned clothes, felt to Leon like getting one last glimpse of the real world before being sucked head-first into a nightmare where things didn't make any sense at all. He had seen movies and heard urban legends about groups of crazy people who lived in the middle of nowhere, who attacked _outsiders_ on sight, but those kind of people didn't usually ever leave their home region, so… so why on Earth would they have gone all the way to the United States in order to kidnap someone?

Was the Intel wrong after all? Instead of belonging to international kidnappers, did that other van simply belong to the last group of unlucky bastards to cross paths with… with whoever the hell these people were? It wasn't like the Agent could ask his captors, since he didn't speak their language even _if_ they were in the mood to chat, although they were _definitely_ in the mood to drop him on the ground and deliver a few swift kicks to his sides when he tried to struggle his way free.

" _Deja de luchar, cerdo_!" One of them yelled during the beating. " _Solo moriras cansado_."

It was awful hard to defend himself with his arms tied like that, leaving Leon with no choice but to take the blows, and then be picked up again so that the journey could resume. Moving farther along the trail as is twisted and turned its way through the forest, they carried him downhill past a couple old partially rotted shacks that looked like they were about a week away from collapsing, and then just as the forest reached its thickest, the whole thing just opened up into a wide clearing after the next curve.

Getting a good view of his new surroundings was difficult because of how he was being carried, but suddenly the Agent felt like he had been transported a couple hundred years into the past when he craned his head upward to see the village that lie before him. The buildings were made of wood, with thatch roofs, with the exception of the large stone watchtower tower that looked oddly out of place as it stood two stories higher than all the other buildings around it. There were cows and chickens around as well, with most of the bovines chewing on hay inside a small barn while the chickens just kind of wandered around aimlessly.

Seriously, this place looked like something out of the 1800's, with all of the men in sight wearing similar plain shabby clothes to the others, with the women all wearing outfits consisting of simple dresses and head scarfs like a medieval dairy maid. The Agent didn't see any children around, though, which seemed odd in this kind of… what was this, a kind of _minimalist_ _commune_? Everyone around was paying attention, watching intently as Leon was carried toward what looked like the center of town… but then a knot formed in his stomach as he saw what was waiting there for him.

There were wooden structures that were kind of like crosses, made from wooden planks as thick as the ones for the bridge, and lined up across the center of the village like they were positioned for some kind of grotesque display. There were four others there as well, each with their wrist-ropes hung over one side of the crosses so that their feet were off the ground, as if each man was a kind of counterweight for the one on the other side… and all of them wearing a light blue _policia_ jacket, which explained what had happened to his backup.

Wait a second, there were only four of them hanging there, including the wounded one from the house… along with the one dead down in the river, made five… so where were the other three? Dozens of villagers had surrounded the hanging Officers, some waving pitch forks and shovels in a threating manner, while others angrily shouted things that… Leon was probably better off _not_ being able to understand… although he started struggling again once he realized that he was being carried toward the structure on the far end.

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?!" He yelled while kicking and squirming. "Those men are _Police Officers_ , er… _policia_!"

This time they didn't drop him, although the one up front gave him a hard punch across the face, which was successful in stopping the Agent from struggling, at least long enough for them to lift him high up enough in order to get his wrist ropes hooked over the plank. The villagers cheered once Leon was secured, and now he was just hanging up there with his feet unable to touch the ground… clearly the people in this place didn't care much for the cops, but… what the hell was going on here? What _was_ all this?

" _Los extranos estan preparados_!" One of the men yelled after checking the Agent's ropes. " _Ahora dejalos conocer a Salvador_!"

The people cheered again while Leon tested the ropes by pulling on them and kind of swaying back and forth, and the four captive Officers were trying this as well in the hopes of getting away, while also sounding pretty frightened as they yelled to each other in Spanish. The Agent tried asking them what was going on, and what had happened to the others, but the Officers were too panicked to answer him, or maybe they just couldn't hear him over the villagers who were still cheering and yelling.

But then he heard it… the sound of a small motor trying to start up, followed by the rhythmic puttering as it started, and you know, it almost sounded like a… no, the very _idea_ of something like _that_ in a place like _this_ was just ridiculous. At least, that was that the Agent told himself as the sound of the small idling motor seemed to get closer and closer, until the crowd of villagers parted so that Leon and the hanging Officers could see yet _another_ figure that was walking toward them… this one even worse than the others.

He wore the same kind of old fashioned clothes as the others, but where the other men wore simple hats or nothing at all on their heads, this guy's whole face was covered by what looked like a burlap bag that had eye holes cut out of it so that it could be worn like a mask. However, even as scary looking as the bag was, it wasn't the worst part of this newcomer… the worst part was when the Agent realized that the small motor noises he had been hearing were coming from the large _chainsaw_ that the bag man was carrying in his arms.

" _Salvador matalos_! _Salvador matalos_!" The villagers chanted, stepping back so that they made a kind of human wall around the whole area. " _Salvador matalos_ _Salvador matalos_!"

Part of Leon's mind wanted to simply deny this whole situation, since it was so ridiculous that it was like… it was like something out of a bad horror movie. The clichés were all there; the city people wandering into some old redneck hidey-hole, and then all getting captured before being killed one by one in horrible ways… hell, this place even had a masked freak with a chainsaw. Unfortunately, as much as he wanted to believe that this was some kind of a joke or a nightmare that he would wake up from soon, there was no more room for denial after the chainsaw revved up... and its blade began tearing its way into the ribs of the first Officer in line.

"Holy fucking shit!" Leon screamed as blood started spraying out of the man's side. "Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit."

This was no joke; blood was now spraying all over the bag man that the villagers were referring to as _Salvador_ as he kept pushing the blade farther into his chosen victim, the Officer who had been wounded back at the house. The poor man kicked and flailed around as his screams were quickly turned into a desperate kind of gurgling noise with just as much blood flowing form his mouth, but Salvador just kept digging with the blade… digging, and digging, and digging… until the Officer went silent as the entire lower half of his body fell onto the ground.

All around the bloody spectacle, the villagers jumped up and down, cheering as the bag man moved around the post in order to reach the next Officer in line, but this time it was _Salvador's_ turn to be surprised. The second Officer was not wounded, so as soon as the bag man got close enough, he swung out with his leg, making Salvador grunt and stumble back a step after being kicked square in the face, but this just seemed to make the bag man angry.

The Officer tried to kick him again, but this time the bag man grabbed onto his ankle with one hand while bringing up the revving saw with the other, resulting with a blood curdling scream as the Officer's leg was severed _very_ slowly. The Agent wanted to help him, but there was nothing he could do so long as he was just hanging there, but there had to be a way to get himself free… there just had to be. Unfortunately, nothing came to mind by the time the second Officer was no longer moving, but then Leon looked down just as Salvador was approaching the third, and saw something that just might do it.

It was his _knife_. These psychotic villagers from the 1800's were quick to get rid of the Agent's pistol, but they hadn't given the knife down in his boot a second thought. The sharpened blade was surely enough to cut through the ropes, so with using all of the gymnastics skills that he had, Leon brought his legs up, pretty much folding himself in half so that his boots were pressing against the wooden beam right next to his hands… but the blade was still so hard to reach that the third Officer was already bleeding out from having the saw blade put right through his stomach by the time that the knife was in his hand.

"Come on, come on." The Agent said to himself, frantically cutting at his ropes while the bag man approached the fourth and final Officer. "I just sharpened you, damn it, _cut_!"

Although it was pretty horrific to see, the fact that Salvador was taking his time by slowly cutting the fourth Officer vertically in half from the groin all the way up through the top of the skull, was giving him the time he needed to slowly cut away the thick rope. Slicing at it faster and faster while the blood soaked bag man started walking toward him, the color drained out of Leon's face when he heard the chainsaw rev up… just as the rope around his wrists came apart.

The Agent fell to the ground, landing on his back just as the chainsaw blade swung right past where he had been, releasing a small shower of wood splinters as it tore into the beam instead, giving Leon time to swing his knife so that the blade made a deep cut across Salvador's leg. With his attacker momentarily staggered by this, the Agent lifted both legs, and kicked the bag man in the stomach, making him stumble backwards, so that Leon would have the time to get to his feet, but although free, he was still in a really _bad_ situation as Salvador recovered.

Okay… so what the hell was he going to do now?


	7. Chapter 7 La Campana

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Seven: La Campana**

 _Salvador matalos! Salvador matalos! Salvador matalos!_

The villagers kept chanting as they moved closer together, now forming what almost looked like a low wall made of men and women in order to keep Leon from escaping his inevitable fate at the hands of the chainsaw wielding bagman. The Agent, however, did not intend to die like those Officers, so he kept his knife ready as he and Salvador slowly circled around the makeshift _arena_ that was created by the villagers… although he still wasn't sure exactly what he was going to do.

 _Putt-putt-putt-putt_ , little puffs of smoke continued to come out of the chainsaw as its motor idled, the whole machine shaking as if being just as eager to take a bite out of Leon as the villagers were to see it happen, and then the time for thinking and planning was over when the bag man suddenly revved up the machine while running at him unexpectedly. Ducking down as he dove forward, the saw hit nothing but air when it passed over him, and the Agent's plan was to jump back up and stab him in the back before he could stop and turn around.

Unfortunately for Leon, Salvador was a lot quicker and more agile that he looked, revving the motor again as he spun around to swing the blade without stopping first… the edge of the chain catching his shirt just enough to rip the fabric, leaving the Agent with a stinging sensation across his chest as he fell back down after stumbling backwards. The weapon had only grazed his skin enough to make it sting, so he ignored the small forming blood stain on his shirt so he could focus on getting back up… but the bag man was already on him.

Revving up the motor loudly while raising the saw up above his head, some dirt and rocks were kicked up when he brought it down, missing Leon only by inches when the Agent rolled to the side. He then had to quickly roll in the other direction when Salvador brought the blade down again, kicking up more dirt and rocks, but this time Leon was able to give the bag man a good cut across the hand with his knife, while also ramming the sole of his boot into the bag man's covered face.

" _Que estas hacienda_?!" One of the village women yelled angrily. " _Solo maldito matalo_!"

He had kicked Salvador with all his strength to the point where the bottom of his foot stung, but judging by how fast the bag man was able to regain his balance, the Agent was quickly realizing that this was not a fight he would be able to win with just his knife. So instead of remaining in a defensive position after jumping to his feet, Leon turned and punched the nearest villager in the mouth, using the handle of his knife as a fist-pack.

The villager in question, another kind of pale looking woman in an old fashioned dress, was caught completely off guard and knocked off her feet by the surprise blow, which created a hole in the human wall that he ran through before the others could fill it in again. Alright, so the Agent had managed to get out of the makeshift arena with all of his body parts intact, but he wasn't out of danger just yet, since with more villagers moving to block him again, the only way forward was the wooden door of another house.

It wasn't like there were a lot of other options available at the moment, and Salvador was already revving up the chainsaw again behind him, so Leon rushed forward, shouldering open the door as he ran into the wooden building, and then slamming it shut once he was inside. There was no latch or lock that he could see, but there was a heavy wooden bookshelf on the wall right next to it, so without even thinking, he grabbed onto the piece of furniture in order to slowly pull it over with a loud _crash_!

" _Esta en la trampa_!" He heard one of them yell outside as he closed and latched the shutters on the windows. " _No dejas que se escape de la casa vivo_!"

Flashes of movement could be seen through the shutters, most likely villagers getting in front of them to prevent the Agent from trying to sneak out through a window, and now the interior was darkened, since the only light was now coming from the windows that were still open on the second floor. This was the only chance that Leon had to catch his breath since being carried into the village, so his plan was to get his heartrate under control enough for him to start thinking properly… but this plan had to be abandoned when the chainsaw was heard revving up again, just before sawdust started flying into the house when Salvador began cutting through the door.

"Come on, give me a break." Leon whispered as a sliver of light appeared from the cut. "Where's those other Officers when I need them?"

Beginning at the top, and easily slicing through the dried out wood that made up the door, the Agent knew that he was in trouble if the bag man cornered him, so he did the only thing that he could, which was to run up the stairs. This house was laid out almost identically to the first one that he had entered, although there were more children's toys in this open room, mostly piled up near the smallest of the beds… but it was strange… he hadn't seen a single child since crossing the bridge into this place.

Maybe the children were off at whatever these people did for school, or maybe they were just kept away from town square when outsiders were being executed, but there was no more time to investigate, as a cheer came from the villagers outside when Salvador finished removing the obstacle between them. Light flooded the bottom floor of the house as the bag man ran inside, immediately starting up the stairs…but this time Leon was ready for him.

Standing just off to the side of the stairwell, with a large wooden rocking horse in his hands, the Agent swung the big child's toy just as his pursuer was reaching the top of the stairs, resulting in a loud _whack_ as the wooden frame connected with the burlap bag he was wearing. Groaning in surprise as he lost his footing, Salvador fell backwards into the wall, before collapsing onto the stairs, and rolling all the way back down to the bottom.

He briefly considered going after the bag man and finishing him off with the rocking horse, which was still mostly intact, but even if he managed to kill Salvador, that didn't mean that the other dozen or so villagers wouldn't simply attack him. So instead, the Agent used it to break open one of the nearby windows instead. There had been no visible way to open it, and thankfully the screaming villagers outside were so loud that the breaking glass was barely heard at all, and as he hoped, the roof of this house was connected to the next one.

Yeah, okay, he thought while quietly climbing out onto the roof, all Leon had to do was crawl across the section of roof that went between the two buildings, and if he could make it to the next house, then he could get inside via one of the windows… hopefully allowing him to sneak away undetected. So far the bag man hadn't gotten back upstairs to look for him, heh… with a little luck maybe Salvador was knocked out or dead… and no one else seemed to notice him either as the Agent crawled on his belly across the thatch material… until he heard a _crack_.

Suddenly the roof vanished from underneath him, causing Leon to crash to the ground after falling through, along with a shower of straw and mud, but was he safely inside of the next house? No, he had fallen into the narrow alleyway _between_ the two houses, right into plain sight of the villagers who had been still standing in front of the closed shutters. Like a rabid animal, the closest man immediately dove on top of him when the Agent tried to get up, only to find his eyes rolling up into his head when Leon reflexively stabbed his knife into the side of the man's head.

" _Alli esta_!" A woman's voice yelled as he pushed the dead villager off. " _Miralo esta herido_!"

Coughing from the dust and straw, as well as being dazed from the fall, he wasn't able to retrieve his knife before finding himself being grabbed by the arms as more villagers started dragging him away… only to drop him right back where he started in the center of town. Kicked in the ribs and stomach once or twice before the two men moved back, Leon was just getting to his hands and knees, when he heard the _putt-putt-putt_ of an idling chainsaw, meaning that Salvador was finally coming out of the house.

Summoning the last of his strength, the Agent started to get up, only to grunt in surprise when the approaching bag man raised up his foot and kicked him in the chest, making Leon stumble backwards into the wall, where he slid down to the ground in a sitting position. The villagers cheered as Salvador revved up the chainsaw as high as it would go, before stabbing it right toward the Agent's face… which was stopped by Leon reaching up and grabbing the yellow plastic casing of the machine.

His adrenaline was going, giving him enough strength to keep himself from getting killed right away, and the bag man was so strong that the spinning blade kept moving steadily closer to its mark… inch by inch, until the Agent could feel the air that was being moved by the blade's motion on his face, as well as taste the bar and chain oil that was being lightly sprayed out as it got closer… and closer… and closer…

 _BONG_! Suddenly there was a new sound, that of a large bell being rung from a location that was not visible from the village, but regardless of how far away the sound was, all of the men and women reacted to it, even Salvador as the chainsaw stopped spinning. _BONG_! As if they were a single unit, all of the villagers turned toward the sound, and seeming to forget all about Leon as they began to slowly walk toward it.

" _La campana_." One of the men said, sounding almost like he was in a trance. " _Ya es hora de rezar_."

 _BONG_! For a moment the Agent wasn't sure what he was seeing… one minute these people were hell bent on cutting him in half like they had just done to those poor Officers who were still tied up, and the next… and the next it was like he no longer mattered. Their movements were no longer graceful and direct, now looking more like zombies who were under some kind of spell, sort of like onboard the Starlight when Gillette Liquid had begun to give direct commands to her infected victims.

" _Tenemos que irnos_." One of the women added as the crowd turned down another road. " _Senor Saddler… oh, Senor Saddler_."

 _BONG_! And with that, they were gone… where the village had been erupting with voices and activity only a few seconds before, now the whole place was eerily silent, like one of those abandoned mining town in _Arizona_ that all the tourists visited on the way to _Las Vegas_. So what, they were just… leaving him there while they went off to… wherever the hell they were going? Not that the Agent was complaining, since he had been less than a half inch away from death when the tolling bell worked its magic… leaving only _one_ question on Leon's mind.

"What the… fuck?" He whispered, leaning back against the house wall to rest as the bell kept tolling.


	8. Chapter 8 Hunnigan

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Eight: Hunnigan**

The unseen bell continued to toll as Leon moved back around the house to retrieve his knife, but unfortunately both it, and the villager he had stabbed it into, were gone. This meant that the Agent was now completely unarmed, since his pistol was lost back at the bridge where he and the Officers were ambushed, but at least there didn't seem to be any more of the insane locals around. In fact, except for the tolling bell and some leaves being blown around by the cold autumn wind, the whole place was deathly silent.

Regardless of his relative safety at the moment, it went without saying that the situation was a bit more extreme than expected, and if Leon was going to have any real chance of rescuing Ashley, he was going to need backup sent in… if the young woman was even still alive. The villagers might have taken his weapons, but they didn't know about his hidden radio device, so the Agent took it out of his hidden pocket, attaching the audio receiver to his ear before pushing the power button.

This tiny little unit had some kind of high-tech modern battery that was supposed to last for like a week of continuous use, so there was no doubt that it would stay working for the duration of his mission as long as he only used it for short burst transmissions. Other than the audio receiver, which was attached by a retractable cord, the unit consisted of a built in satellite antenna, microphone transmitter, and a really small screen for visual contact. Most importantly, though, this device was now his only link to headquarters, especially since the radio unit in the _policia_ van was, well… in the river.

"Headquarters, this is Agent Kennedy." He said quietly, looking around for hostiles while ducking back inside the house with the broken door. "Headquarters, are you receiving me?"

" _We're receiving you, Agent Kennedy_." A voice replied as the image of an attractive woman with glasses and dark hair appeared on the screen. " _We were actually about to contact you; we've received an urgent report from the CIA Investigator that the inhabitants of that village might be somewhat hostile toward outsiders, so use caution when approaching them_."

Well, _there_ was a fucking understatement, Leon thought, trying not to get angry with her while asking why they hadn't given him this information beforehand, but this woman, who identified herself as _Ingrid Hunnigan_ , actually had a pretty good excuse. According to her, the CIA Investigator had to send reports in through a less advanced version of this same communications device, so not only did it take time to receive images, but his reports were at times pretty long and detailed, so they took some sorting through in order to find the important parts.

" _I'll always update you as soon as I can, Agent Kennedy_." She continued. " _But I'm worried that we might try to reach you at a bad time, so how about you just check in regularly, and I'll give you any updates then_? _So, what do you have to report so far_? _Any sign of Ashley_?"

"Uh… no sign of the target _just_ yet, Hunnigan, but I do have one _hell_ of an update." The Agent replied. "My vehicle and the only bridge out of town were both destroyed in an ambush, five of the seven _policia_ who came with me are dead, and some guy with a bag on his head just tried to cut me in half with a fucking _chainsaw_ , so yeah… I'd say the locals are pretty damn hostile. How long's it gonna take for a strike team to get here?"

If _anything_ was a good argument for the Agency to send in a Special Forces team to sweep the whole area, Leon figured that it was the fact that this place was like something out of a bad horror movie. Hey, maybe when this was all over he would be able to pitch the idea to Hollywood and make a fortune with _The Spanish Chainsaw Massacre_ … but his hopes for a quick end to this nightmare were dashed when his contact replied that there was no chance of a team like that being sent in.

" _I'm sorry, Agent Kennedy, but if the locals are as dangerous as you say, then we just can't risk it_." Hunnigan explained, pushing her glasses back up onto her nose. " _If they reacted this violently to you, then the President believes that they will simply kill his daughter if they find themselves under attack by an overwhelming force_."

Well, that was just _great_ , the Agent thought… so now not only was he trapped in this place with no weapons, but he was also not going to receive any backup. His contact did have some good news, though, being that there was an update on Ashley's location that just came through, along with some images to help show him the most direct route. Apparently there was a farm not too far away from the main area of the village where she was reportedly being held, and he just needed to follow the path.

Even with a satellite uplink, it took a little while for the two images to download into his unit, and once they were both received, Hunnigan told him to use the slider bar in order to see the details better. As instructed, he pushed a hidden button on the side, and another larger screen popped out of the side like those new cell phones that were supposed to be coming out in a couple years that had the sliding out keyboards built in to make sending text messages easier. The first image was black and white, showing what looked like a postcard farm from the old days; featuring a barn, farmhouse, and cattle behind a split row fence.

The second picture was kind of shocking, though… it showed the stone watchtower the Agent had seen upon entering the village, with clear emphasis on the path that went around it, but that wasn't the problem. The problem was that the rest of the picture showed the villagers forming a human wall while someone was being kicked in the chest by a chainsaw-wielding man who had a burlap bag over his head.

"Hunnigan, this picture is of _me_!" Leon exclaimed, closing the second screen. "Are you telling me that the investigator was right _here_ while I was being… being _skull-dragged_ by the entire population?!"

" _Agent Kennedy… Leon, I know that this situation is upsetting_." His contact replied. " _But you have to remember that the investigator is a professional just like you are… I'm sure he wanted to help, but also probably realized that it was the prefect chance to look for Ashley while the villagers were distracted by you. And besides, everyone knows that you can handle pretty much any situation… that's why the President handpicked you for this assignment_."

She was obviously just trying to calm him down, since Hunnigan didn't sound too sure of herself as she said these things, but she was cute and her voice was so pleasant to listen to that it worked. Leon was quickly calming down again, and by this time he had caught his breath, even though his chest still stung where the chainsaw blade had grazed him. Then he noticed something else; after the distant bell gave one more echoing toll, it fell silent, and that meant… well, what did that mean exactly?

When the ringing started, the villagers seemed to fall into a trance as they moved toward it, and now that the bell had been stopped… did that mean that the spell was going to wear off? If so, then they were probably going to remember about him, so the Agent came back outside of the house, looking around until finding the stone watch tower. For a moment he considered going back up the path toward the bridge to see if he could find his pistol, but the villagers had probably taken that away just like they had done with his knife, and besides… there probably wasn't much time before the deranged people came back.

"I have a feeling I'm not gonna be safe here much longer, Hunnigan." Leon explained, staying low as he moved to another covered place on the way to the tower. "That bell seemed to do something to the people, like… you know, make them more passive like they were in a trance, but the ringing stopped, so I gotta get moving."

" _Okay, but try to make regular check-ins_." His contact replied. " _And Agent Kennedy… I'm sorry about not being able to send a team… but I'll see if I can arrange any other kind of backup for you… Headquarters, out_."

It was a nice thought, if nothing else, the Agent thought as the transmission ended, but he had a strong feeling that he was on his own from this point onward. Quickly stowing the communications device back in its hidden pocket, Leon looked around to make sure that the villagers hadn't returned yet, before moving over to the watch tower. Sure enough, there was a path that went around behind it just like in the black and white photograph, as well as an old shovel leaning against the interior of the tower itself.

This was not exactly his first choice of weapons, but almost anything was better than trying to take on those villagers with nothing but his bare hands again, especially if he encountered _Salvador_ again. It was flat on the end, with pieces falling off from the heavy layer of rust that coated the iron, but maybe it could be used to stab someone, kind of like a spear, or… well, the metal on the end was sure heavy enough to be used to bash the bag man's head in if he came back.

Trying to move as quietly as he could, the Agent stayed crouched down as he followed the path, first going around the back of the tower, and then curving off into the forest. The sun was getting higher up in the sky now, but none of its heat seemed to be able to get through the layer of thick gray clouds between it and Earth, leaving the Agent's breath even more visible now than it had been on the trip up the mountain.

Morning dew still coated the ground, making Leon's feet feel even colder once his boots were coated with the water that was all across the fallen leaves, but at least this path wasn't very long. In fact, after one more curve around a short hill, the whole thing opened up into another clearing just like the one that housed the village. However, instead of seeing a bunch of houses and people, this clearing was dedicated to a large farm, identical to the one in the photograph that had been sent to him.

Taking cover behind one of the larger trees, the Agent took out his compact binoculars, and scanned the area; there were cows just kind of wandering around their enclosed grazing grounds, and chickens just kind of walking around at random, but still no sign of the villagers. Maybe they were going to keep moving toward where the bell came from, or maybe they had just gotten really far away before its spell over them wore off, but either way this was probably his only chance to look for Ashley undisturbed… huh… maybe the investigator's actions _did_ make a little sense after all.

Keeping a tight grip on the rusted shovel as he stepped out of cover, Leon took a deep breath… before stepping out into the farm.


	9. Chapter 9 The Farmhouse

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Nine: The Farmhouse**

Moving in a large circle around the perimeter of the farm, Leon remained mostly hidden behind the tree line in case anyone was still there to see him, coming out only to investigate each of the area's structures. First was a tool shed, nothing but a shack made of dried out wood, and filled with tools that were in no better condition than the shovel the Agent was carrying. An old stone well was positioned on the other side, its blocks covered with brown moss, and the awning having collapsed some time ago, letting enough light shine down so he could see nothing but darkened water down below.

Next was the barn, where some chickens quickly jumped out of the way, clucking and flapping their wings while Leon climbed over the split level fence. A cow that was lapping up brown, discolored water from a nearby trough stopped and looked up at him for a second as he walked into the slowly rotting structure, but aside from the smell of mildew and the whole place looking like it was about to fall down from neglect, it all looked like just that… a barn.

This was getting him nowhere… so far there was no sign of Ashley, and the Agent knew that it was only a matter of time before the villagers started coming back, so he skipped the rest of the perimeter, since there was really nothing left to look at over there anyway besides the fence, a dried up vegetable garden, and something that might have been another shed once upon a time. No, the only thing that was worth checking out was the house, even though it was just as dried up and condemned looking as the rest of the farm.

Strips of what might have once been attractive white paint clung to the exterior walls of the large farmhouse, while an old porch swing swayed back and forth in the wind… as did the front door, moving maybe an inch in each direction while the hinges squeaked softly. If Ashley Graham really was being kept inside, then Leon found it odd that the front door would have simply been left open for anyone to wander in… then again, that bell had also made them forget about _murdering_ him in town square, so someone must have been in the middle of walking through the door when it started ringing.

If that was the case, then this just made it a little easier for him to get into the house, find out where they were keeping the young woman, and then escape with her again, hopefully _before_ the villagers came back. Unfortunately, as the Agent was to discover as he entered the farmhouse, the place was huge, looking more like a mansion on the inside with its high ceilings, and rusted metal chandeliers that might have actually been nice at one time. Just like with all the other houses that he had seen so far, the walls and furniture were all made of dried wood, probably because the inhabitants of this place had built everything themselves… but dried wood didn't last forever, and the floor was creaking so badly with each step that Leon was worried he was about to fall through.

From the entrance hall where he was standing, there were two doors, both on opposite sides of the room, and each leading to a long hallway where doors to several rooms on each side were visible. Damn it, he didn't have time to explore this whole place, so after a quick game of _eenie-meenie-miney-mo_ , he decided to start down the left hallway first. Moving as quickly as he could, Leon was careful not to put too much pressure on the creaking planks while opening every door down the hallway in succession, but not finding anything but a couple neglected guest rooms, a study where one of the bookcases had never been picked back up after falling over, and finally…

"Oh, shit!" He exclaimed, stumbling backwards at what he saw after opening the next door. "What the fuck?!"

The first thing he had seen upon opening the door was one of the village women up against the wall, but she was in no condition to attack him… because her feet were a foot off the floor, being held up by the pitch fork that had been rammed hard enough right through her face that it also stabbed through the wall behind her… pinning her there like an insect in someone's collection. Over the years that had passed since 1998, Leon had seen a lot of death, and most of it pretty gruesome… but it had actually been the overpowering _smell_ that made him have to take a step back.

Yeah, the smell was one of those things that he had never managed to get used to, even after going through both the Raccoon City outbreak and the Starlight disaster, but what had been the worst part about this room, aside from how small it was, was that the pinned woman was not the only body. There were several, in fact, men _and_ women, most seeming to have been just tossed into the room like trash, while others, like the pinned woman, seemed to have gotten what might have been called _special treatment_.

At first the Agent figured that they were more captured outsiders like himself and the Officers, but that didn't add up since they were wearing the same clothes as the rest of the deranged villagers, and even had the same pale, cracked skin as the others from years of hard, simple living. So what… did that mean that the villagers even attacked their own people on occasion? No, probably not, since all of these bodies looked like they had been there for about the same amount of time… so were these people outcasts… or criminals?

It was starting to look like there were no answers in this place, only more questions, but the Agent didn't have time to investigate… heh, for a second there he almost found himself wishing that he could have Tobias Liquid take a look at the place, just so that he could know what was going on in this village. But then again, unleashing a psychotic BOW on rural Spain didn't seem worth solving this mystery, no matter _how_ good of a detective he was. Besides, the yellow eyed monster was dead, so all Leon could do was use the camera function on his communications device to document the situation, and continue looking for Ashley.

The image of that woman pinned on the wall with a pitchfork through her face continued to flash through his mind even after Leon had closed the door and moved on, making him fear even more for his target's safety, since _clearly_ this place didn't practice discrimination based on sex. Now trying to move even more quickly from room to room, he didn't find any more body cashes, but he did almost take a fall after rounding a corner, and finding that this hallway ended at a sudden downward staircase.

A hundred scenes from a hundred horror movies flashed through his mind as he thought about entering the basement of a house like this, but honestly how much worse could it get? It wasn't like this was Raccoon City where those skinned, tongue monsters were waiting in the darkness, and he highly doubted that Gillette Liquid was going to suddenly appear… although the entranced state of the villagers _did_ remind him of the spores she had used onboard the Starlight, especially when the bell started ringing.

Honestly, there was no choice but to continue onward, since the Agent doubted that the President would allow him to return home without his daughter, so he moved even more carefully down the stairs, feeling them shake and creak with each step that he took down into the slightly warmer root cellar of the farmhouse. It was darker there, with the only light coming in from a few tiny windows, but at least now he didn't have to worry about falling through the floor, since it was dirt.

This basement was also a single, very large open room that contained only a few pieces of furniture, including a rack that was full of jars of what he _hoped_ was preserved fruit, an old chair that someone apparently gave up on trying to repair, and a really big wooden armoire that looked like it was in better condition than everything else in the house. _Wham_! A sudden sound from within the armoire made the Agent jump a little as the whole thing shook… was there something inside?

Holding the shovel at the ready while slowly approaching the piece of furniture, jumping a bit less each time it shook, now starting to seem like there was someone trapped in there, but… but that was stupid. Then again, so was almost everything that was happening in this place, so extending out the shovel toward the door while keeping at a safe distance, Leon used the flat tip of the digging tool to flip up the metal latch, only to jump back again when the doors flew open as someone fell out.

When he saw that this person had a gag around their mouth, with hands bound behind their back with a rope, the Agent was hopeful that it was Ashley Graham who was tumbling to the ground like a sack of potatoes… but then he realized that this person was not blonde… nor were they a woman. It had been some _guy_ with dark hair who was trapped inside of the armoire, but from his more modern clothes and smoother skin, he really didn't look like one of the villagers, so… another captured outsider, maybe?

"Hey, relax, relax, I'm not gonna hurt you." Leon said, putting the shovel down before untying the man's gag. "Since you're all tied up, I'm gonna assume you're not like the others… right?"

"You mean those _bastardos locos_ out there in the village? No." The prisoner replied as the Agent untied his ropes. "I'm gonna go ahead and assume you aren't, either, since one, you're not killing me, and two… the only ones around here who _habla ingles_ are the big players."

Fair enough, Leon thought while helping the man up after the last of the ropes were undone, and the first thing that the prisoner did was reach into his pockets as if he were looking for something. He checked each of his pockets, before looking back into the armoire where he had been being held, but then appearing frustrated all of a sudden once he came back over to where the Agent was standing.

"Okay, thanks for saving my life and all, but I have one _very_ important question for you." The prisoner said, an almost desperate look in his eyes. "Do you have a _cigarillo_ , er… a _smoke_?"

"I _don't_ , actually." He replied, starting to search his own pockets as something shook the floor above them. "Hey, I think I got some gum, or… what the _hell_ was that?"

The floor above them continued to shake, with little bits of dust falling down as it sounded like something heavy was moving across it. Not only that, but there were lighter sets of what sounded like footsteps going along with the big noises as well, making Leon realize that someone had entered the house… and that they were no headed right for the stairs that would take them into the cellar.


	10. Chapter 10 Chief Mendez

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Ten: Chief Mendez**

" _Descubre quien toco el timbre_." A deep and gruff voice was heard from above as the footsteps neared the top of the staircase. " _Sufriran mucho por la interrupcion_."

"I don't mean to worry you, friend." The prisoner whispered urgently. "But if that's who I think it is, you better find a place to hide."

"Who do you think it is?" Leon asked, turning toward him. "Are we…

But there was no point in finishing that question, since the Agent looked back just in time to see the prisoner vanish back into the armoire before pulling the doors closed to make it look like he hadn't been released in the first place. _What a pal_ , Leon thought sarcastically, having a hard time believing that the prisoner had just left him there… but then he had to find a hiding place himself, crouching down behind the large, abandoned chair he had seen earlier just as heavy footsteps started coming down into the basement.

 _Thud_ … _thud_ … _thud_ … peeking around the wooden frame of the broken chair as the owner of the footsteps came into view, for a second the Agent thought he was having another Raccoon City nightmare when he saw that this slow walking man was about seven feet tall and wearing a dark green long coat. Oh God, he found himself thinking uncontrollably, it's another one of those Umbrella giants that chased him through the police station… no, wait, this guy had the same kind of skin as the other villagers, and… and probably the craziest _spinach-chin_ beard that he had ever seen.

Flanked by two of the villagers, who both looked like dwarves while standing next to the big guy, the big man slowly moved away from the stairs as he slowly headed over to check on the armoire, and that's when Leon realized he was in trouble. This guy was sure to notice that the latch on the doors had been lifted, so he needed to sneak up the stairs and get away, at least until _spinach-chin_ left… the only problem was that the two villagers had been left standing at the bottom of the staircase.

Crap, the big guy was getting closer to the armoire… but wait, the villagers were facing toward him, so maybe if the Agent crept around the other side of the chair and circled behind them, he could still manage to get away. So he tightened his grip on the shovel and silently made his way around to the other side of the staircase. So far it was going good, especially when the villagers stepped forward after spinach-chin grunted with surprise on discovering that the armoire's latch was open.

 _Creak_ … Leon had just put his foot on the first step of the upward staircase, when it creaked so loudly that the villagers jumped a little, growling as they spun around to see what it was… but the Agent wasn't about to be ambushed again. _Whack_! Swinging the shovel upward as soon as he realized he was caught, the tool caught the first villager under the chin, lifting him off his feet before he fell to the floor. The second villager grabbed onto the shovel in an attempt to overpower him, but Leon shoved him backwards against the stone wall, bringing his knee up into the deranged man's stomach, before pulling the shovel away and smacking him upside the head with it… just in time to feel the big guy's large hand closing around his throat.

"Well, well, if it isn't the outsider." Spinach-chin said, ripping the tool from his hands while effortlessly lifting Leon off the ground. "I imagine most people in your position would have tried to escape, but I thank you for saving us the trouble of hunting you down."

The big guy's grip was powerful, choking the Agent while keeping his feet from touching the ground as if he weighed nothing, and to make matters worse, Leon was unable to break spinach-chin's grip no matter how hard he punched the big guy's arm, or how hard he kicked him in the stomach. Unlike the villagers, who seemed like normal people aside from the fact that they were completely out of their minds, hitting this guy was like punching a piece of rock, something that the Agent hadn't experienced since his battle with the green giant in Raccoon City.

"I am Bitores Mendez, pleased to meet you." The big guy continued, tightening his grip, and smiling when Leon's struggles became more desperate from lack of air. "And as the chosen Chief of the people, allow me to be the first to welcome you to our…

Now desperate for breath, and unable to overpower the Chief, Leon interrupted the big guy's words by poking him right in the eyes with two fingers, and making him grunt with what sounded like annoyance as he staggered a little. Funny thing, though, was that one of Mendez's eyes felt a lot harder than the other one, as if it were fake… that certainly explained why one of his eyes was blue and the other was brown… which the Agent had just suspected was due to inbreeding… and still suspected that a little.

However, instead of dropping him like Leon hoped, or at least loosening his grip a little, the village Chief turned his body around, and swinging his arm hard enough to send the Agent flying through the air away from the staircase. _Crash_! Landing on what remained of the broken chair, and shattering what was left of the frame with his body, Leon hit the ground hard, bouncing a couple times, and then coming to an abrupt stop against the basement's far wall. The good news was that he could breathe again… not that it was easy to do so after taking a fall like that.

"Typical _Americano_ … no manners at all." Mendez continued, slowly walking toward him after discarding the shovel. "Perhaps I will teach you a lesson in humility."

He was hurt, but the Agent wasn't about to give up just yet, so he waited until the village Chief was right on top of him, before grabbing a large piece of the chair's remains. Jabbing it straight upward into Mendez's groin, the big guy grunted while bending slightly forward, allowing Leon to make an upward swing with the piece of wood that connected with the Chief's heavily bearded chin as he got up. _Smash_! The board shattered as the big guy was made to lean back slightly, so the Agent dropped it before spinning around, and delivering a powerful kick to the Chief's mid-section.

Or, at least it was _supposed_ to go into his mid-section. Unfortunately, even after taking the hit with the board, Mendez was still able to reach out and catch Leon's foot with his large hand… and then ramming his other fist into the Agent's stomach. The blow was hard enough to not only completely knock the wind out of him, but also make his knees give out, so that Leon fell to the floor, although still being partially held up by his captured foot.

"You have a lot of nerve coming here uninvited, outsider." The village Chief said, now lifting him up off the ground by his one foot so that Leon was hanging upside down. "This is a peaceful community of devout worshipers, and not only have you disrupted our harmony, but you could not even bother to learn our language."

"Peaceful community?!" The Agent exclaimed between coughs, trying to look up at him. "You _killed_ all those Officers, and you're mad because I didn't…

 _Whump_! Leon's words became an agonized outcry when Mendez suddenly balled up his free fist and rammed it into the Agent's stomach hard enough to make him swing a little. _Whump_! _Whump_! _Whump_! This time the punches kept coming, each one stopping Leon from taking a breath while an incredible amount of pain shot through his entire body, and after taking a few more he found himself on the verge of passing out.

However, instead of hitting him again, the village Chief swung his arm again, turning his whole body around so that the Agent was sent flying right into the armoire. Like what remained of the chair, the larger piece of furniture collapsed upon impact, this time causing both Leon and the prisoner inside to fall onto the ground amongst the wreckage. The dark haired prisoner immediately scrambled to his feet, and tried to run away, while the Agent was very much done fighting… or moving in general… not that either of them were going to get away.

" _Y a donde crees que vas_?" Mendez asked, grabbing the prisoner by the top of the head when he tried to run past. " _Te quedas aqui donde no puedes causar mas problemas_."

The prisoner then cried out, falling to his knees as the village Chief squeezed the top of his head, and trying unsuccessfully to break the big man's grip, no matter how hard he pulled against those overly large fingers. After a few more seconds of this, Mendez suddenly let go, instead simply pushing the prisoner backwards so that he fell over, and then snapping his fingers so that the villagers who had accompanied him into the basement approached… as did the three others who had also come down the stairs at some point.

" _Algunos hombres fueron asesinados por la iglesia_." One of the new ones reported. " _Pero no hay indicios de quien toco el timbre_."

" _Debe habar mas forasteros entre nosotros_." The big guy said, shaking his head in frustration. " _Voy a ir a la caza… castigarlos un tiempo y luego llevararlos a Senor Saddler_."

Leon didn't like the way Mendez was speaking, regardless of not understanding the words… not that he was able to do anything about it when the village Chief walked away, leaving the five villagers free to approach the two captives. The dark haired prisoner tried to scramble away again, and actually succeeded in knocking on of the villagers down by kicking him in the ankle, not that this helped him when two of the others grabbed him by the arms.

Together they held him while the one he knocked down pulled back his fist and slugged the prisoner right in the mouth, while at the same time the other two, the ones the Agent had beaten with the shovel while trying to sneak away, turned their attention toward _him_. Leon was just starting to be able to get up to his hands and knees, when one of the villagers kicked him in the stomach, making him fall back down on his face just before both of them started kicking him in the sides, as well as stomping him on the back each time he tried to get up.

Eventually the beating was just too much, and the next time the Agent was kicked back down, he didn't get back up… in fact, he didn't even feel the hits anymore as everything went black and he slowly lost consciousness.


	11. Chapter 11 Luis Sera

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Eleven: Luis Sera**

What a beautiful day, Leon thought as he looked up at the clear blue sky, setting down his newspaper before leaning back to relax in the white vinyl lounger that was next to the swimming pool. The palm trees that lined the rear courtyard of his huge manor house were tall enough to keep the sun from being uncomfortable, while letting just enough light through for him to work on his tan, and he was _hard_ at work today… although tanning was soon forgotten as his beautiful wife came out onto the patio in her two-piece bikini, carrying another drink to replace the one he had just finished.

"It's like you can read my mind sometimes, Claire." He said, smiling while she set the drink down. "Why don't you join me for a while out here… where _everything_ is perfect?"

"How can I refuse the world's most perfect man?" She replied, getting onto the lounger so that he was holding her. "Oh Leon, I'm _so_ glad that we got married and adopted Sherry, instead of wasting our lives doing something _stupid_ like fighting bio-terrorism. Now some _other_ idiot can run all over the world fighting zombies, while you and I spend all day lounging by the pool or just having sex until we pass out."

This was truly the perfect life, he thought as they started kissing, and Claire had just gotten on top of him, when the Agent's eyes snapped open, his whole body twitching from the shock of suddenly feeling cold… so cold that he could see his breath. Claire Redfield and the pool by the manor house were gone, replaced by what looked like the inside of an old wooden tool shed, where Leon was… sitting on the ground?

His head hurt and his whole body was sore, but when Leon tried to bring his hand up to his forehead, he discovered that his wrists were bound behind his back with something cold and metallic. A chain, maybe? _Clink-clack-clink_ , struggling to free himself, the metal chain rattled and shook, but he was unable to free his hands, the frustration causing him to look down toward his feet, only to discover that his jacket was gone. Well, that certainly explained why he was so cold, but when he leaned back to try and get more leverage, the Agent felt something warm against his back.

"Oh, good, you're awake." The prisoner from the armoire said, grunting with discomfort when Leon moved the chain. "Hey, don't move so much, huh? You're not gonna wriggle your way out of that chain, I already tried."

"Well, we can't just _sit_ here." The Agent replied, his feet sliding on the slightly muddy floor when he tried to change positions. "Wherever the hell _here_ is."

As far as Leon could figure, he and the prisoner had been taken to this place after passing out from their individual beatings at the hands of Chief Mendez, although it seemed kind of pointless to chain them up on the floor back to back, when it would have been much easier to just kill them on the spot… not that the Agent wasn't glad to still be alive, or anything. He couldn't see much from where he was sitting, just a small window that let the sunlight in, and some old rusted tools that hung on racks along the walls… no door on this side, though, not that he could get to it while chained up like this.

"Hey, hey, calm down _vaquero_." The dark haired prisoner continued. "You're not gonna break out of this with your bare hands, and besides, we don't want to piss off the guards, right?"

Guards? From where he was, Leon couldn't see anyone, but after craning his neck as far around as he could, and kind of awkwardly leaning on his cellmate's shoulder, he saw that there were two villagers in the shed with them, each one on either side of the one door to this place. Both of the men were holding bladed weapons… well, more like gardening tools such as a sickle and an ice pick, but each one more than enough to kill a man, especially if that man was chained up on the floor.

"These guys don't speak _Ingles_ , so we can talk at least." The prisoner continued, smiling and nodding at the guards, who remained stoic. "I'm Luis Sera… you don't see too many _Americanos_ in this part of the world, so what brings you _all_ the way out here, hmm?"

"I guess there's no harm telling you if these guys don't speak English." Leon replied, trying again to free himself from the chain. "I actually came here… looking for this girl… hold on, I think… I think I can reach her… picture."

It was quite a struggle, but the Agent managed to reach into his back pocket and take out the picture of Ashley Graham, holding it as far out to the side as possible so that Luis could take a look. The dark haired man strained to turn his head far enough, but once he did he couldn't help but let out a short whistle, and Leon couldn't really blame him, since she _was_ a good looking girl. Unfortunately, one of the guards suddenly seemed to come to life, his whole body jolting as if reacting to a pre-programmed command… a command which caused him to walk over and rip the picture out of their hands.

" _La nina es nuestra, cerdo_!" The guard yelled before kicking the Agent in the side of the head so hard that it almost knocked him over. " _Ahora sientate ahi y no te muevas… o te metemos una escoba en el culo_!"

"What a charming fellow." Luis said after the guard went back to his post. "Kind of reminds me of my shift Sergeant back when I was a cop in Madrid… so is that what you are, mystery man? You some kind of cop from America? Yeah, you kind of look like the type… not for me, though… you put your life on the line every day for the people, but they don't give a shit."

"Not bad, but I'm a _Federal Agent_ , actually." Leon replied, wishing he could rub his now sore cheek. "Well… I _used_ to be a cop… just for a _day_ , though."

The dark haired man actually let out a laugh at this, first commenting on how he thought _he_ was bad, but then suggesting that maybe the Agent was just able to learn _faster_ than he was. Leon found himself laughing a little, too, before briefly explaining that his first day on the force just happened to be during the worst part of the Raccoon City outbreak. For a second he was hesitant about giving Luis too much information, but then again he doubted that the villagers had the capacity to use spies or do anything else but follow simple commands like… like animals?

"I was sent here to find that girl in the picture, her name's Ashley Graham." The Agent continued, nodding toward the picture that the guard was still holding. "I suppose that it's too much to hope that you've seen her around?"

"Trust me, I wouldn't miss a blonde with _tetas_ like that… _especially_ around here." Luis laughed. "But, you know… that _does_ make something I heard some of the villagers saying make more sense… right before you found me in the farmhouse, I heard them saying something about moving the President's daughter to the church… _santa mierda_ , is that who blondie there is… the fucking President's daughter? You've gotta be shitting me… so who does that make you then, _James Bond_?"

Leon had to admit that the whole story really _did_ sound like something out of an old _Bond_ film, and if he hadn't actually been handpicked by the President himself for this mission, he would have thought that the whole thing was bullshit, too. Hell, maybe it was better if the dark haired man didn't believe him, and _CRASH_! Suddenly the conversation was interrupted when the door to the shed flew open, revealing a villager who… was in _really_ bad shape.

" _Ayuadame_!" The new villager screamed as he stumbled into the shed. " _Estoy ardiendo… ayuadame! Estoy ardiendo_!"

The first thing that the Agent thought when he saw this man was that he must have just survived a fire, with his reddened skin and the burn marks on his clothes that seemed to be still spreading. Leon didn't smell smoke, but the fire had to be nearby, since the new villager's body was still smoldering as if he had literally just come out of the flames… although there was no smoke coming from the large metal pick hammer that he was dragging behind him.

Jolting to life again like they had done when seeing the picture of Ashley, the two guards actually looked surprised when they saw their smoldering brother, but instead of accepting their help, the red skinned man screamed again while swinging the pick hammer upward. There was enough force behind the blow to nearly take off the first villager's head when the spike stabbed up underneath his jaw so that the end came out the top of his skull, and then the other villager grabbed the attacker from behind, pulling him backwards so that the pick hammer and the impaled man fell to the ground.

Screaming again as the second villager tried to restrain him, the red skinned man looked like he was turning even redder, and repeating those same words as he twisted around in order to make the second villager cry out when he was pushed right into the waiting points of a pitchfork that was leaning against the wall. Again with those same words, the smoldering villager kept screaming as he ripped the pick hammer out of the dead man's skull, only to swing it sideways right into the temple of the second villager just as he was freeing himself from the pitchfork.

This whole exchange had happened so quickly that both Leon and Luis just sat there staring at the smoldering man as he executed the others… but then it was their turn to suddenly come back to life when the red skinned man once again ripped the pick hammer out of his victim… and started stumbling his way toward _them_. Suddenly a wild idea popped into the Agent's mind about using the pick hammer to break the chain between them, but it would take the two of them acting in complete unison, and Luis, well… he was completely panicked.

"No! Come on, you gotta move _with_ me!" Leon exclaimed as the dark haired man did exactly the opposite of what was needed. "No, not that way, _this_ way!"

" _Ayuda, el nos matara_!" Luis screamed, struggling against Leon's movements so violently now that they both ended up falling over sideways. " _Ayuda, no quiero morir_!"

Well, now there was no way for them to use the pick hammer to break the chain, and with the red skinned villager now standing right above them… raising up the heavy weapon for the kill… the Agent found himself screaming just as loudly. Suddenly the red skinned villager's attack was stopped when a gloved hand clamped down over his mouth from behind, while at the same time the blade of a long knife stabbed into the back of his neck hard enough for the tip to come out the front.

Dropping the pick hammer as he was dragged backwards through the door by the unseen attacker, the soldering villager could be heard gagging and choking as he was stabbed repeatedly until silence fell, leaving Leon and Luis laying there helpless as they waited to see who it was that would walk back into the shed after they heard the body outside fall to the ground.


	12. Chapter 12 A Hooded Man

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Twelve: A Hooded Man**

It seemed like more than a minute passed between the red skinned villager being dragged back through the shed door by the unknown attacker, and the time when footsteps could be heard coming back toward where Leon and Luis were still helplessly chained together… although it was probably only a few seconds. Whatever the time measurement was, it didn't stop the two of them from trying again and again to get their arms free of their bonds, which on one hand was easier since the dark haired man was no longer panicking, but then again they had fallen over sideways, so moving at _all_ was a bit difficult.

The dry wooden door had fallen shut again on its own after the action was over, leaving the Agent and his cellmate alone in the small tool room with the bodies of the two villagers who had been killed… the good news about this was that one of them had a set of keys on his belt, one of which must have been able to fit into the padlock that Leon could feel with his fingers… not that it mattered now that the shed door was slowly opening again.

" _Parece que estamos seguros por el momento_." A voice said as the footsteps behind them entered the room. "Well, aren't you two a just a _sight_ to behold?"

What surprised Leon the most at first was how different this person's voice sounded between speaking Spanish and English, talking the local tongue like a native, but then such a thick cockney accent when saying things he could understand that it almost sounded… maybe forced? Trying his best to turn his head around so that he could see who was there, the Agent was surprised again when he saw a man standing there in a tattered black long coat.

Heavy boots and the legs of black trousers could be seen at the bottom where the coat was torn the most, while a raggedy pair of old leather gloves covered his hands, and the coat's thick hood was pulled up over the man's head… leaving only his cold blue eyes visible between that and the thin purple scarf that was pulled up to cover the majority of his face. However, it was only _after_ looking at the sandy colored hiking backpack that the hooded man was wearing, that Leon noticed the blood dripping down from the blade of the long knife in his hand… a knife that looked exactly like the one the Agent had lost in the village.

" _Hey quien demonios eres_?" Luis asked as the hooded man took the key ring off the dead villager's belt. " _No eres de por aqui, no con ese acento_."

" _Bien al menos uno de ustedes presta atencion a su entorno_." The hooded man replied, laughing a little while stabbing the knife into the floor next to Leon's head hard enough so that it stuck there. " _Pero estaria mas preocupado por el chico que no hable espanol_ … heh… makes me wonder how someone like _you_ managed to survive Raccoon City in the first place."

For a second Leon was shocked to hear about Raccoon City from someone who lived in a place like this, but from it his mind could only draw two conclusions: Either this person spent a lot of time out in the real world, which was doubtful from how he wore the same kind of shabby old fashioned clothes as the rest of the villagers, or he was some kind of enemy agent there to do… who even knew what, kind of like Ada Wong's mission back in '98. Well, regardless of what the hooded man's deal was, Leon wasn't going to be played for a fool… in fact, he was going to get some straight answers from this guy… as soon as the padlock opened.

 _Click_ , the instant the chains fell away from his arms, the Agent grabbed the knife from the floor while rolling backwards away from the stranger. Taking a split second to look at the knife, and seeing from the engraving near the hilt that it was, in fact, the one he had stabbed into that villager's head while fighting Salvador, Leon jumped to his feet while holding up the weapon, not in a completely threatening manner, but definitely a stance that let everyone in the room know that he was in charge.

"Leon, what are you doing?" Luis asked as he and the hooded man got up. "I'm pretty sure this guy just saved our lives."

"Yeah, that _might_ be true." The Agent said, not taking his eyes off the hooded man. "But if he's not like the villagers, then why didn't they capture _him_ , too, huh? Better yet, how did he know where to find us, and most importantly, how did he know I survived Raccoon City?"

"They didn't capture _me_ because I'm not an _idiot_ who burns down people's houses." The hooded man answered, scoffing at the questions. "Unlike _you_ , I speak Spanish, _and_ I know how to use a thing called _stealth_ , which is useful for, oh I don't know, maybe listening to the locals talking about the _new prisoners_ , perhaps?"

As far as excuses went, these were pretty good ones, but that didn't explain how he knew about Raccoon City… at least not until the hooded man made Leon feel kind of stupid when the stranger said that he couldn't have _possibly_ heard about it while the Agent was in there telling Luis _all_ about his mission and background. Yeah, he probably shouldn't have given out so much information about himself, regardless of believing at the time that the dark haired man was the only one around who spoke English.

"Okay, fine." Leon said, slowly lowering the knife. "So, who are you then?"

"You mean, _besides_ the guy who just saved your life?" The hooded man laughed. "I'm nobody special, really, just a traveling peddler, a _merchant_ if you like the fancy words. Now, I see you're a bit thick, friend, so you might not have noticed that things are a little _crazy_ around here… so as a special offer, for _today_ only, I'm dealing in _exactly_ what you need at the time."

The Agent tensed up a little when this _Merchant_ reached into his coat, but then almost laughed himself at what the hooded man pulled out. It was a pistol, a _Colt .45_ revolver to be exact, and along with it a holster attached to a cartridge belt that was completely lined with bullets. It was certainly what he needed, since the 9mm pistol he had brought was kicked over the cliff back at the bridge, although Leon personally didn't care for revolvers… they held fewer rounds and were slower to reload, but still, in this case a weapon was a weapon.

"See, now isn't this nice?" The Merchant continued as the Agent took them. "Now, that's a _man_ 's gun, so it might take _you_ some getting used to… sort of like giving a twelve year old his first beer, ay?"

Trying his best to ignore the insults that flowed form the hooded man's mouth like a whole separate language, Leon put on the belt, and had to grit his teeth a little to ignore the Merchant's snickering as his hands fumbled more than he wanted to admit while loading the revolver. The Agent imagined that he would get used to this awkward weapon after a while just like with everything else, and it _was_ a larger caliber than the 9mm, which based on how the locals shrugged off injuries, he was going to need.

Luis asked the hooded man if he happened to have another weapon handy, only to look disappointed when the Merchant picked up a pitchfork from the floor and pushed it into the dark haired man's hands, and then the three of them walked out of the shed, and back into the freezing cold outside air. The sun could just barely be seen through the thick gray clouds, and a couple hours must have passed, since it was a lot higher up than it was before… and so was the place where they were standing.

Unlike the forests that surrounded the village, this place looked more like the mountains, or rather… carved right into the mountain? There were trees, but only visible up on the ridgeline that was high above, with this area being like a geographical depression… had to be a way out, though, or else how would the shack have been built? This was a higher part, though, and as the Agent looked farther down into the carved out surface, he could see other buildings that skirted the perimeter of a bottomless pit… as well as a few less than stable rope and plank bridges that spanned right across the abyss.

"Okay, the first thing we have to do is figure out where we are." Leon said, starting toward the path that went down toward the other buildings. "It looks like we're going to have to do some searching around to find a way out, though… all right, let's get moving."

"Are you fucking _serious_ right now?" The Merchant asked, stopping Leon in mid-step. "Well, unless your plan is to get beat up and captured for the _third_ time in a _single_ day, you might want to take a look around you, because all the answers are right here."

The Agent wasn't sure what he meant by that, so the hooded man scoffed again, before motioning for the two of them to come closer while he crouched down on the ground. The first thing he did was pick up some of the dirt, which seemed to sparkle a bit when it was scattered by the wind, and then the hooded man pointed to the footprints of all different sizes that went back and forth from the shed to the path. Finally, he put his finger to his lips, and told them to listen to the other sounds that could be heard over the wind.

At first Leon didn't hear anything, but wait… there _was_ something else… he could hear what sounded like digging… and something heavy and metal being moved along a track, along with… a furnace? The Merchant then explained that not only was this place the village's personal _gold mine_ , but that it was a _very_ active one where plenty of workers toiled all day long without rest… the perfect place to hold prisoners, since the only way out was right through the main work area.

"What did you think?" The hooded man asked, standing back up. "That the Chief left you there with only _two_ guards, and then just _forgot_ about you? You're not dealing with brainless zombies this time, kid; I know it's a stretch for a _dolt_ like you, but you can't just _bull-charge_ your way through this like you did on the Starlight… you're gonna have to use your _head_."

"Well, then how did _you_ get in here?" Luis asked, unable to hide the nervousness in his voice. "You couldn't have gone through the main entrance if the workers are here, they would have spotted you… so I'm guessing you found another way."

In response, the Merchant snapped his fingers before pointing at the dark haired man as if he approved of his observations, and thankfully saying that they were correct. There was, in fact, another way out, but it wasn't going to be easy to get to.


	13. Chapter 13 Twenty Seconds

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Thirteen: Twenty Seconds**

The plan for getting out of this mining area of the village was actually a pretty simple one; aside from the main gate, which was constantly active with shabbily dressed villagers pushing carts back and forth, the Merchant described a second, much older looking pathway that probably dated back to when the first deposits of gold were discovered by the original founders of this community. Maybe it was a way to get ore out without drawing unwanted attention, or perhaps the first people didn't have the resources to create the entrance they had now… either way, no one had been inside the passage when the hooded man used it, so what other choice was there?

"However _bonkers_ these people are, they have _one_ virtue." The Merchant explained when the three of them took cover to get a closer look. "They work like a well-oiled machine, taking _exactly_ the same amount of time to perform the same task for hours on end, without getting tired or _even_ needing breaks."

"So you're saying they're predictable." Leon added, using his compact binoculars to look around the area. "And from what I saw earlier in the village, except for that big guy, the people don't deviate from their routine unless one of them raises the alarm."

"Yeah, but if they _do_ raise the alarm, it's like a God damn hornet's nest." Luis pointed out. "Even without binoculars, I can see there's a _couple_ dozen of them spread out around the mine, and if they all come after us, there's no way for us to escape."

No matter how disheartening it was when the dark haired man's comments reminded him of how the villagers had dragged him and those Officers into Public Square for execution, the hooded man was right about how they _never_ deviated from the routine. Silently counting while he watched each person, the Agent was able to confirm that the cart pushers, the ones doing the digging, and even the ones who were in charge of carrying supplies back and forth… all left a window of about twenty seconds or so every two minutes where no one was watching across the pit.

From where the three of them were crouched down, they needed to make it down the trail into the mining area, and then cross a _really_ long rope and plank bridge across the very center of the abyss. Once on the other side, the Merchant pointed to one of the old metal buildings that had been built around the edge of the crater, and said that the way back to the village was straight through there. The good news was that there was a window of about twenty seconds every two minutes for them to move without being spotted… but the bad news was, well… it was _only_ twenty seconds every two minutes.

"I've done this route before, so I'll show you the fastest way." The hooded man said, getting ready to move. "Watch where I go, and then follow one at a time… here we go."

Exactly as they had done several times, the villagers moved so that no one was looking across the pit, allowing the Merchant to take off. He moved a lot faster than Leon imagined, gracefully leaping over low obstacles, and then doing a sort of baseball slide across the ground so that he was behind one of the bridge's heavy wooden anchors just as the villagers started moving again… and all of this while wearing that backpack, which couldn't have been light. Now he remained motionless for the next two minutes until the next interval, when the hooded man jumped up and sprinted right down the center of the bridge.

Somehow he was able to keep his balance without slowing down, which Leon was impressed by because of how much the bridge moved and shook, not to mention how hard the cold wind was blowing. Making a desperate leap toward the end of the rope and plank bridge just as the villagers were coming back, the hooded man did a forward roll so that he was hidden again, this time by the wall of the nearest building… just as one of the villagers wheeled out a cart. For a second the dust covered man stopped, looking around for anything suspicious while the Merchant reached into his coat for a weapon… but then the miner continued on his way, and the hooded man relaxed.

"Okay, seems simple enough." The Agent said as the Merchant crept into a doorway and motioned for them to follow. "Should I go first, or do you want to?"

"Oh, you go right on ahead." Luis laughed, failing to hide how nervous he was. "One thing, though… I don't know how the hell he ran like that across the bridge, but it's not usually that easy, so you be careful, huh?"

Good advice, Leon thought as the movement window came up, but now there was no more time for planning as he suddenly found himself running down the trail for the first stop that was right next to where the bridge started. Funny thing, though, was that the downward trail was a lot longer than it looked, as well as steeper… so much, that instead of doing a graceful slide into the first hiding place, the Agent kind of lost his balance, turning the slide into an awkward sideways roll, but at least he made it, no matter how painful the final landing.

Okay, so far so good, Leon thought as he listened for cries of alarm from the miners, but heard none. Two minutes to rest and catch his breath, before running across a bridge that… looked a lot less stable now that he was close to it. Two ropes for guardrails, and two more that ran underneath the dried planks that were spaced _way_ too far apart, were the only things holding up the bridge, if it could be called that… crap, two minutes was just about up, had to get moving again.

Jumping to his feet, and starting to run as soon as the way was cleared, the first thing the Agent discovered was that it was damn near impossible to sprint across this thing, since the planks started shifting and swaying as soon as he took the first step across them. Holding onto one of the guard ropes helped a little, but the wind did not, nor did when he made the worst mistake possible in situations like this one… he looked down.

He didn't mean too, it just kind of happened when Leon needed to watch his footing, and the result of seeing just how far down the dark abyss below went, was that he was no longer paying attention to his footing. Suddenly the Agent's foot got caught on a piece of board that was sticking up, causing him to fall rather loudly on his face so that he was forced to look down into the seemingly bottomless hole once again… and then the villagers started coming back.

There was nothing he could do; no time left to get up and run for the other side, and he sure as hell couldn't stay where he was… so out of pure desperation and possibly insanity, he did the only thing he could think of. Wrapping his arms and legs around the planks as tightly as he could, which was more like just grabbing onto it with his hands and feet, the Agent pulled upward on one side while leaning toward the other, resulting in the side facing the villagers to be popped up… while Leon hung directly over the abyss with nothing to save him if he fell.

Now he waited, expecting at any moment for one of the villagers to spot him and raise the alarm, but surprisingly it didn't happen. Maybe they just didn't notice that part of the bridge was popped up sideways enough to hide a person, but somehow this spectacle went unnoticed… although his arms were about to give out by the time another two minutes passed. Letting out a loud sigh of relief the next time the movement window came up, Leon righted himself before scrambling across the rest of the bridge on his hands and knees, still managing to get to the wall of the building just before the villager came out… _just_ before.

"Good strategy, kid… I was actually impressed by that." The Merchant whispered as the dust covered miner walked away. "Balance could use some work, though."

"Hey, I _made_ it, didn't I?" Leon sharply whispered back, catching his breath. "But seriously… how in the hell did you run like that across the bridge?"

Instead of answering him, the hooded man just winked at him, like he was some sort of street magician who wasn't about to share his secrets. Fine, whatever, he could keep them, and now that the two minutes were almost up, the Agent was more concerned with how Luis was doing with his own run. He must have come down the trail while Leon was making his way across the bridge, since the dark haired man was now crouched down at the start of the bridge… no doubt feeling that same tension and doubt as he looked at the obstacle ahead.

"Come on, Luis, you can do it." The Agent whispered as the movement window opened. "Come on."

Getting to his feet and starting to run across the bridge, the dark haired man had to grab onto both guard ropes to keep from falling over when he made the same mistake of looking down, but unlike Leon, Luis didn't seem to be able to find proper footing, at least not enough to let him get across the bridge before the villagers came back. The Agent and the Merchant both motioned for him to hurry up, but then the villagers started to come into view, making the dark haired man panic so much that he stepped too far toward one side of the planks… making them flip upward enough for him to slide off.

" _Santa mierda_!" Luis screamed, grabbing onto the rope to save himself as his feet dangled above the abyss. " _Leon, ayudame_! _Leon_!"

Out of instinct, the Agent took off running back across the bridge, focusing only on helping the dark haired man, regardless of the fact that the villagers were starting to notice the commotion. Luis had been about two thirds of the way across, so Leon reached him quickly, but not fast enough to avoid the gaze of the dust covered villager who was coming out of the building. Dropping his cart and starting to call out while pointing at them, the miner's words turned into a frightened scream when the Merchant casually pushed him over the edge of the abyss from behind, causing the villager to vanish down into the darkness, but not before others started to notice.

" _Los prisioneros estan escapando_!" A voice yelled angrily as the Agent pulled his companion back up onto the bridge. " _Alli van, conseguirlos_!"

Once Luis was back up, the two of them moved as quickly as they could to the end of the bridge, but by then the villagers who had been mining were now walking toward them… with picks and shovels in their hands… and that same wild look in their eyes as the ones in town square had when they were cheering on Salvador. Reaching into his coat, the Merchant took out a .45 revolver like the one he had given to Leon, and aimed it at the villagers, sending a bullet into the nearest one's leg with a loud _bang_!

"There's too many, we gotta go!" The hooded man exclaimed, pushing them toward the building as the first few villagers tripped over the one that fell. "Come on, go!"


	14. Chapter 14 The Well

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Fourteen: The Well**

As soon as the three of them were inside the building, Leon turned around and pushed the door shut, before grabbing a metal pipe from a group leaning against the wall, and jamming it into the handle so that the door couldn't be pulled open from the outside. Already the angry villagers could be heard getting closer as the Agent looked around at their new surroundings, discovering that although the entrance was secure, the wood frame walls were only covered with strips of sheet metal… not exactly an effective barrier against mining tools.

While Luis grabbed another metal pipe to replace the pitchfork he had dropped while almost falling into the pit, and the Merchant reloaded the single bullet that he had fired from his revolver, Leon noticed that there were a lot of pipes running along the walls and ceiling of this place… pipes that had little jets of pressurized steam leaking out. He knew that in a lot of modern mines in places like America, the workers used such pipes for carrying water down into the tunnels for cooling down machines, or simply blasting away the rock face with pressure, but… were the people of this place that advanced?

" _No, no, la puerta es demasiado fuerte_." A voice outside growled after something after a heavy tool struck the door. " _Atacar las paredes… las paredes_."

The Agent was about to ask what they were saying, but the answer became pretty obvious when the next blow put a noticeable dent in the sheet metal wall. _Bam! Bam! Bam!_ It now seemed like all of the deranged people outside were trying to force their way through the side of the building, putting several dents into its surface, each one getting larger and larger as the attacks continued. Clearly the only option was to escape, but behind the three men there were two paths that looked almost identical.

"That way leads back to the village." The hooded man said, pointing down the left path. "Now, I'm the fastest one here, so I'll lead these freaks the other way while you escape, then I'll catch up with you later. Oh, and kid… try to go a few minutes _without_ getting captured again, huh?"

Luis didn't need to be told twice; the dark haired man turning around and sprinting off down the tunnel as soon as he knew which way to go, leaving Leon just standing there for a second while the Merchant took a defensive position just around the corner where the two paths separated. Part of him wanted to say something witty back to the verbal jabs that the hooded man kept throwing at him, but there was no time for such pettiness, since the largest section of sheet metal wall was about to collapse.

 _Crash_! _Bang_! _Bang_! The sound of gunshots echoed throughout the tunnel just as the Agent rounded the next corner, trying to catch up to Luis, but apparently the dark haired man was a _really_ fast runner when not faced with a rickety old plank bridge, because no matter how fast Leon went, there was just no sign of his new comrade. Behind him the gunfire stopped after just a couple shots, followed by the sound of an angry mob giving chase down the other pathway, meaning that the Merchant must have gotten away.

" _Try to go a few minutes without getting captured again_." He mocked the hooded man in a high-pitch whisper. "Whatever… Luis? Luis, where are you?"

Still no sign of the dark haired men as the passage rounded yet another corner, turning the buildings mixture of stone and metal walls into that of just stone, probably meaning that the tunnel was leading him further underneath the mountain. Slightly warmer there, too, with the Agent no longer being able to see his breath, but also leaving him unable to see much at all, since there were no windows to let in the sunlight. This meant that Leon had to slow way down and feel his way along the walls.

So far he couldn't hear any villagers coming up from behind, meaning that the Merchant must have been successful in leading the main horde away, leaving Leon able to take his time in feeling his way along the darkened… _ow_! For an instant it felt like someone had stepped into his path and punched him in the nose, but then the Agent realized that it was not an enemy in his path, but a solid stone wall. A dead end?! Suddenly feeling nervous, Leon wondered if he had somehow missed an important turn back there in the darkness and was now lost… but then he sighed with relief, feeling a little silly when he looked to the right and saw illumination.

The tunnel hadn't hit a dead end, it just turned sharply, opening up into a small chamber after a few meters. As with everything else underneath the mountain, the walls, floor, and ceiling were stone, but that floor only consisted of a narrow pathway, well… more like a solid bridge, actually, since everything underneath it was flooded with water. What was this, a well, or a spring? Some pipes were sticking out from the end closest to him, meaning that this must have been the source of the water used in the mines… and the light he could see was coming from the far end of the chamber.

An old, rusted ladder was bolted right into the rock, leading upward into a rounded shaft where sunlight was pouring down from… huh, still no sign of Luis, so Leon figured that he _must_ have gone this way. Wait, what was that? The Agent was halfway across the chamber, when a soft _tink-tink-tink_ reached his ears, just before a shadow began to eclipse some of the sunlight. Someone was climbing down the ladder, but was it Luis?

Taking his revolver out of its holster and aiming toward the ladder, his plan was to shoot as soon as he could see that it wasn't the dark haired man, but then he stopped. With the weapon in his hand, Leon could easily take the one climbing down by surprise, but at the same time a gunshot would alert any more of them that were standing on the surface that something was wrong. After all, there weren't exactly a lot of firearms around this place, so the Agent was going to have to try something a little more subtle.

 _Whack_! One good thing about this more awkward and bulky weapon was that it was heavier than a 9mm, meaning that it was more than enough to crack open a skull as soon as Leon saw that it was another villager climbing down the ladder, instead of Luis. _Whack_! On the first blow, the surprised man fell off the ladder, collapsing to the stone floor, but a second hit was required to render him unconscious, since the deranged man started moving a second later.

No shouting or other sounds of pursuit were coming from up at the top of the sunlit shaft, so had Luis gotten away? Was this guy just headed out to the mines to help the others? Or had the dark haired man already been captured, and now the villagers were looking for him as well? Either way, the Agent couldn't afford to leave a trail, and since the deranged man was clearly dead, judging by the foul smelling blood seeping from the back of his head, Leon simply crouched down, and rolled him over the side of the walkway.

 _Splash_! He still didn't like killing humans, but this was an extreme situation, and based on what had been done to those _policia_ who had come with him on the mission, as well as the people he had discovered dead inside the old farmhouse, it didn't seem like such a… hold on, what was that down in the water? As the body of the villager floated away into the darkened corners, the Agent caught a glimpse of something down underneath the surface… but there wasn't enough light to make it out.

"Shit! Leon exclaimed, much louder than was safe to do as he fell backwards onto the walkway. "Holy shit!"

Among the tools he had bene given for this mission, a compact flashlight was among them, and had remained in his possession like the binoculars, since the villagers who searched him before only seemed interested in weapons. So he took it out, and the bright beam brought clarity when he aimed it down into the water… only to see a face staring back up at him. Wide eyed, and with mouth hanging open, the submerged man swayed back and forth, which confused the Agent, until he crawled back over to the edge and took another look.

In the flashlight's beam he could see two important things about the submerged man, the first being that his wrists were chained behind his back, with that same chain leading down to where it was wrapped around a large rock or something… and the second thing was the light blue _policia_ jacket that he was wearing. Apparently it wasn't enough for these people to throw outsiders off cliffs or cut them in half with chainsaws, but _now_ they had to weight a man down and toss him into the water… and this wasn't the worst part.

As bad as it was to discover that yet another of the Officers had been killed, it was even more horrifying to discover that the submerged man was not alone down there. As Leon moved the flashlight beam across the water, he saw that there were others, _dozens_ of others bound and weighted like the Officer, all of them in varying states of decay… and all of them much _smaller_ than the typical villager. The Agent's brain didn't want to accept what he was seeing, wanted to draw up some other conclusion to what was in front of him… but there was no escaping the terrible reality of this chamber… and at least now he knew why he hadn't seen any children in the village.

Suddenly it was like a knot had formed in his stomach, tightening so badly from the shock of what he saw, that the Agent found himself vomiting down into the water, before scrambling toward the ladder. Even with as horrible as William Birkin had been in Raccoon City, and as vicious as Tobias Liquid had been onboard the Starlight, never in his whole life had Leon seen anything so sickening as a village that would have all their children drowned… these people weren't virus-created monsters, they were _humans_ who could speak and think, so how could they…

Reaching the ladder and grabbing onto the rusted rungs, the Agent had no thought in this instance other than to get out of that underground nightmare, so he desperately climbed up toward the light, reaching the top, and finding himself climbing up over the side of an old well. Sliding down onto the dirt from on top of the moss covered blocks, Leon scanned the area to make sure that no one had seen him, before crouching down behind the small structure, and trying his best to stay hidden… it was time to check in with headquarters… but first he needed to throw up again.


	15. Chapter 15 Status Update

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Fifteen: Status Update**

Beginning with how he could now confirm the deaths of six out of the eight Officers who had come with him on this mission, Leon had plenty to update headquarters on once the tiny communications device was activated, and Hunnigan's image appeared on the screen. He told her all about how the Chief of the village had captured him, and how he had discovered the sixth Officer's body along with dozens of children who had been killed the same way… with all of this leading to the same conclusion.

"Hunnigan, you've _got_ to get a strike team sent out here." The Agent said urgently, peeking out from behind the well to make sure no one was coming. "These people are nuts, like… _beyond_ nuts, and who even _knows_ how many more _outsiders_ they've killed over the years?"

Even beyond the fact that every man and woman in this place that he had seen so far was a savage murderer, it was their behavior in _general_ that really put Leon on edge; carrying out tasks unless perceiving a threat or being redirected to something else by Chief Mendez, well… the first thing he thought of was how Gillette Liquid had used her spores to control people's minds onboard the Starlight, but the villagers didn't seem mindless… not completely, anyway.

" _Leon, I'm really sorry about what you're going through, but the answer is still no_." His contact replied with genuine regret in her voice. " _President Graham isn't going to authorize a full scale attack until he knows that his daughter is safe, so the quicker you retrieve your target, the quicker we can make things happen_."

For a moment after hearing this, the Agent started feeling like it had been a waste of time to even report in, especially if headquarters was just going to leave him twisting in the wind. However, once Hunnigan finished telling him no, she moved right on into giving him _their_ updates that had been received over the past few hours… starting with a picture of Chief Mendez that looked like it was taken through a basement window from outside… a picture in which the big man was holding Leon up in the air by his leg.

" _The CIA Investigator sent us this image for identification_." His contact continued while the Agent gritted his teeth. " _His name is Father Bitores Mendez, and he was assigned to the village parish by the Catholic Church a number of years ago_."

Leon needed her to repeat that to make sure he heard her right, but it was true… that bearded… green giant was a Catholic Priest. Hunnigan didn't have much more information on him, so she moved to the next picture, which was of the Agent untying Luis after freeing him from the armoire… and taken form the same angle as if this mysterious investigator had just been watching him the whole time. When asked about this, his contact simply replied that President Graham had directly ordered the investigator not to interfere with the rescue mission, before getting back to what she knew about Luis.

" _He's a local boy, born in Madrid… spent some time with the police_." Hunnigan explained as if reading over her notes. " _But aside from that and his Master's Degree in Microbiology from the Complutence University of Madrid, there's really not much to tell… spotty residence history… even spottier work history_."

Not exactly helpful, but nice to know… however, when Leon asked her if there was any data on the strange Merchant that was running around the village, it was his contact's turn to be confused, immediately asking him what he was talking about. Heh, maybe the CIA's _asshole_ Investigator wasn't quite as _thorough_ as everyone wanted to believe… not that missing information helped him at all. Still, after all of the disappointments and lack of Intel, Hunnigan was able to give him _one_ piece of useful data.

After determining Mendez's identity, his contact pulled up some old maps of the area, managing to discover where the old Catholic church was. Supposedly this was where the kidnappers had moved Ashley Graham during Leon's first stint as their captive, but according to the old map, the building was pretty far away from his current location. In order to get there, the Agent was going to have to go back through town, and then east down to a lake, where the map didn't show any bridges or anything, just that the church was at the end of a long trail that started on the far shore.

It wasn't a lot to go on, but it was more than he had before, so Leon simply thanked his contact, trying his best to not flat out tell her that this whole mission was a terrible idea, especially if the President was intentionally withholding backup. The honest truth was that with how the people in this village treated outsiders, there was a good chance that Ashley was dead already, but instead of saying all this, he simply allowed the conversation to end. This left the Agent still on his own, with no sign of Luis or that Merchant… time to move on.

Behind him and off to the sides was nothing but a thick forest, but the path directly ahead was clear all the way up to a large house, meaning that this must be the way back into the village. Unlike the dried wood farmhouse where he had found Luis, however, this place looked a lot more modern… so much that it almost seemed out of place. The paint was peeling like the other house, but its construction was a lot more solid, as if it had been built for someone important.

The only _important_ person that the Agent had encountered so far was the Village Chief, so maybe it was a better idea to simply go around the place. Yeah, it was a much better idea to stay out of the buildings and use the trees as cover, since he would be harder to spot while crouched down behind the tree line, so Leon was starting toward the forest, when he had to duck down behind a pile of stacked wood when he realized that he was not alone.

" _Los chicos de la mina dicen que el forastero ha escapado_." A villager said as three of them came around the corner of the house. " _Escuche que uno de los guardias se quemo despuesde que un tipo en una capchua lo mordiera_."

" _No puedes creer toda la mierda que escuchas_." The second replied while Leon was forced to crawl back toward the house. " _Solo hay un extrano de quien preocuparse y el jefe lo azoto como a una puta_."

It seemed that no matter which direction that the Agent planned on moving toward to get past them, the small group would suddenly start looking along that same path, while also getting closer all the time so that Leon was forced to go all the way back to the rear entrance of the large house in order to keep from being spotted. After seeing what these people had done to the Officers, as well as to all those children, he wanted to just shoot them, but just like with before, a gunshot would no doubt draw the attention of anyone else who was nearby… God, he never had this kind of problem when it was _zombies_ he was dealing with.

Again the small search party moved closer to his hiding place, leaving the Agent with no choice but to try the back door of the house… hell, maybe he would get lucky and there would be no one home. It was unlocked, not that there was much reason for the people to lock their doors, given that they were all deranged psychopaths who attacked anyone who didn't belong on sight. The hinge creaked a little, too, but thankfully not enough for the small search party to notice him while he went inside and closed it behind him again.

Yes, the three villagers kept right on walking, meaning that they hadn't noticed him at all, allowing Leon to breathe a little easier, although gasping with surprise after almost tripping when he turned around. He had expected an entrance hallway or maybe a living room to be on the other side of the door, but instead there was nothing but an enclosed wooden staircase that led up to the second floor. The Agent didn't exactly _want_ to explore another big house after what happened last time, but it was better than wandering around out in the open, so he took out the revolver, and started to slowly creep up the staircase.

He tried so hard to step where the dried wooden planks wouldn't creak, and was successful some of the time, but after reaching the door and putting his ear up against it to listen for threats, Leon sighed with relief when he didn't hear anything moving around in the room beyond. _Click_ , _creak_ , the latch opened when he turned it, and again the hinges made a noise as he slowly pushed it open, revealing what looked like a large bedroom. Place was clean and well maintained, too, unlike literally everything else that he had seen in the village so far.

A large bed was against the center of the far wall, next to a big wooden bookcase that was completely filled with large volumes, and there was even a large red area carpet on the floor, noticed when the Agent's footsteps no longer tapped on the hard wood floor as he entered the room. The last thing that Leon noticed was a large painted portrait hanging on the wall, featuring an annoyed looking man in a purple robe and hood… but then the time for investigating was over, when he felt someone tapping him on the shoulder from behind.

 _Bang_! Spinning around while aiming the revolver, the weapon went off when the Agent's arm was grabbed by the huge hand on Chief Mendez, hitting the portrait of the robed man right between the eyes. Now crying out in pain while the big man squeezed his wrist so hard that the revolver fell from his hand, Leon gagged when the Chief's other hand suddenly locked itself around his throat, squeezing so hard that he thought his head was going to explode as Mendez forced him down to his knees.

Trying unsuccessfully to break the bearded man's grip with his other hand, as well as being able to stand up, or do literally anything at all to be able to draw breath, the Agent could only cough and struggle while looking up at the Chief, but then something unexpected happened. For a moment Mendez actually looked surprised, letting go of Leon so that he could start to take a coughing breath… only to backhand him so hard that he was lifted off the floor a second later.

Completely stunned as he felt himself bouncing off the bed's surprisingly thick mattress, and then crashing to the floor face down, the Agent was just starting to get up to his hands and knees, when he screamed after Mendez grabbed the edge of the bookcase and pulled it over so that the weight of it and all the contained books fell onto his back. Leon was pinned, completely trapped so that he could barely move anything besides his head, leaving him helpless as the Village Chief stood over him.

"So… you carry the same blood as us." The big man said, making the Agent cry out again when he used his big hand to push down on the book case for a second. "This changes things."

Same blood? Leon wondered what that meant as the Chief walked over to the window and let out a sharp whistle, but suddenly there were more important things to worry about when four villagers came running up the stairs and into the bedroom.


	16. Chapter 16 The Same Blood

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Sixteen: The Same Blood**

The four villagers lined up against the far wall after rushing into the bedroom, looking almost like a firing squad if they had not been armed with the tools of blacksmiths and farmers, but even with as angry and threatening as they looked, it was still Chief Mendez that Leon was primarily concerned with, especially when the big man knelt down and grabbed the Agent's hair in order to make him look up at him.

"Truly our Lord has blessed you." The Chief said, forcing Leon's head to tilt so far back that it hurt. "But you are still an outsider… and a troublemaker, so you are to remain here until… how is it said in English… _come around_ to our way of thinking."

Without the grip on his hair to hold his head up, the weight of the bookcase on his back caused the Agent's face to slam right back down to the floor as soon as he was released, now making him unable to see anything but the boots of the other people in the room while Mendez walked around. He tried to get up, but the fallen furniture was too heavy for him to move with the one arm that wasn't pinned… and although the revolver was still lying on the floor where it fell, the weapon was hopelessly beyond the Agent's reach.

"It should take no more than a few days for your, uh… _change of heart_." The big man continued, turning back toward him after giving instructions to the others. "That being said, I have ordered these men to kill you if you make any attempt to free yourself… so if I were you, I would remain _very_ still for the time being."

With that, the Chief turned away and walked out the door opposite of the one Leon had used to enter, leaving him pinned there to the floor as if he were a mouth that was halfway caught in a trap. Most of the things that Mendez was saying to him made no sense, especially the part about carrying the _same blood_ and having some kind of _change of heart_ toward these psychopaths, but regardless of the threat of the four villagers killing him, there had to be a way out of this mess.

Okay Leon, he thought to himself, trying to ignore all of the different sensations of pain that were currently wracking his body, options… what are your options? Can't reach the revolver, can't reach any of the other tools, not that they would be much help right then even if he could, and still pinned down, so fighting in any regard was out of the question. These people reacted to threats and stimuli from their leader, so it wasn't like he could trick them into leaving, either.

Several minutes passed, with the four villagers remaining as motionless as the _Royal Guard_ at _Buckingham Palace_ , while the Agent wracked his brain for solutions… only to find none. Desperately trying not to give up hope, Leon started coming up with ridiculous plans like trying to get the guards to turn on each other, when suddenly the villagers' attention was grabbed by whatever was casting that remarkably human looking shadow in the light that was coming through the window.

 _Crash_! _Pht-pht-pht-pht-pht-pht_! Unable to see what was more than a couple inches off the floor, he heard the sound of the window's thin glass shattering, followed by another sound that the Agent didn't realize was silenced gunfire until holes began to appear in his guards' bodies. One of them collapsed after taking two hits in the head, and another simply fell against the wall behind him, leaving a trail of blood as he slowly sunk to the floor, but giving the other two an opening to attack once the shooting stopped.

 _Bang_! _Bang_! Leon heard someone climb in through the window, and then a brief struggle before the last two villagers were dispatched by much louder pistol fire. Both bodies simply dropped to the floor as the unseen intruder moved farther into the room, but from how softly they walked, as well as how pronounced the heels were on their black boots, the Agent had to assume that the intruder was a woman.

Just how many normal people were hidden around this place, he wondered? And now that the four guards were dead, what was this mystery woman planning to do with _him_? Struggling as he might, Leon was just not able to lift his head enough to see anything beyond how nice and shapely her calves were, and of course she said nothing in return… although she _did_ kick one of the fallen tools over to where he could reach it, before going back over to the window.

 _Zip_! After her shadow reappeared in the window's light, there was a mechanical sound as if something was pulling her upward really fast, and then the Agent found himself alone again… with a pitch fork that the unseen woman had given to him before vanishing. For a moment he was confused as to why she had done that, as well as who in the hell she was in the first place, but wait a second… maybe he could…

The tools that the villagers were using were primitive, but also really sturdy, so it took some reaching, but Leon managed after a couple tries to wedge the handle in between the bookcase and a few books that had fallen in a convenient stack in order to try using it as a lever. With the limited range of his arm, he was only to grip it in certain places, but thankfully it was just enough for the heavy piece of wooden furniture to be lifted up a few inches with a long, drawn out _creak_.

Doing his best to keep pressure on the pitch fork's handle as he tried to slide out from under the bookcase, the Agent found himself getting pinched a few times when his hand slipped off the tool, but eventually he was able to let it fall the rest of the way to the floor once he was all the way out. Grabbing the revolver, and keeping it ready in case anyone else decided to enter the bedroom unexpectedly, Leon took a minute or so to catch his breath, before using the bedframe to pull himself to his feet.

Cold wind was blowing in through the broken window, but there was no sign of his mysterious savior, and he would have reported her presence to headquarters right then and there, if the threat of getting captured again wasn't so high. The Agent wasn't too worried about the silenced gunfire, but there was a good chance that someone had heard those last two pistol shots… he had to get out of this house, but there were two ways that he could go.

The most obvious way was the one he used to come in; going down the stairs and out the back door, and then back to his first plan of sticking to the tree line. However, if more villagers had heard the shot and suspected that he had escaped again, the back door would probably be the first place that they thought of to look for him. The other door obviously would take the Agent through the main interior of the house, a place where he had no knowledge of… but then again, if there _were_ any other villagers inside, then surely they would have come to investigate the gunshots by now.

All right, through the house it is, Leon thought as he stumbled a little bit while stepping over the guards' bodies. The door wasn't locked when he tried the knob, and as said before, if anyone else was inside they would have come to investigate the gunshots, so he took a quick peak out into the hallway, and then stepped out into the hall once he saw that he was alone. Like the bedroom, this place was well kept, with area rugs and… and more portraits of that same guy in the purple robes… who the hell was he?

Come to think of it, there were lots of people around the village who he didn't know the names of, and there wasn't any time to investigate it now, since any minute a bunch of angry villagers could crash through the door. At the end of the hall was a staircase that led down to the first floor, where the Agent passed a surprisingly clean looking dining room and kitchen… almost like some of these lunatics ate and lived like normal people… almost.

As fun as it would have been to explore the rest of this big house, Leon really needed to get moving if he was ever going to find Ashley at that church, so after reaching the bottom of the stairs, he walked right over to the front door and pulled it open… only to quickly slam it shut again when he found himself coming face to face with Chief Mendez. _Crash_! A big fist came busting through the door, busting a hole in the dried wood as if it were paper, and then completely ripping the whole door off its hinges while the Agent backed away.

 _Bang_! _Bang_! _Bang_! Aiming the revolver just as the big man was tossing the broken door away, the Agent pulled the trigger, making the bearded giant twitch when one of the bullets hit him in the shoulder, and even more so when the second one hit him in the cheek. After five shots the cylinder was empty, since he had forgotten to reload the one that was fired into the portrait back upstairs, and the Chief was already stomping into the house after him, so there were no options left other than to run back up to the bedroom.

His plan was to keep the big man chasing him while he went through the bedroom and through to the back of the house to get away, but all that was stopped when the Chief picked up a wooden chair from around the dining room table, and tossed it so that it struck Leon in the back of the legs. Knocked forward so that he fell onto the wooden stairs with a hard _whump_ , the Agent slid back down to the first floor, and was just starting to get up again, when the Chief forced him back down onto the stairs by pressing his big foot into the Agent's back.

"I see that I cannot leave you alone for five minutes without trouble being caused." The bearded giant said, making Leon cry out as he pressed down harder. "I am not going to bother asking you how you got your gun back, nor how you managed to overpower your guards… but it no longer matters."

Letting out another sharp whistle that caused another group of villagers to enter the house, the Chief continued by explaining that the Agent was simply too dangerous to be allowed to become part of the community, followed by mentioning in a regretful tone that he would simply apologize to someone named Senior Saddler. Next he moved his foot from Leon's back, but only so that he could pick him up and shove the Agent into the waiting arms of a larger group of villagers.

" _El forastero no se unira a nuestra familia despues de todo_." Mendez announced to them as they quickly tied Leon's arms like they had done before. " _Llevarlo al lago_."

One of the villagers grabbed his revolver and put it on his belt like a trophy, and then one of the woman suddenly punched the Agent in the mouth when he rested as they dragged him from the house. More villagers had gathered outside now, growling and yelling at him from both sides of the trail as he was dragged through town like a condemned criminal… hell, even Salvador was there, but hanging his bag-covered head a little as if jealous that his inactive chainsaw wouldn't get to see any action today.

But where the hell were they taking him?


	17. Chapter 17 A Watery Grave

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Seventeen: A Watery Grave**

Through the center of town where the decapitated bodies of the four Officers were still hanging, and then down the road to the right of the large stone watch tower, the group of half a dozen villagers continued to growl at Leon, sometimes hitting him if the ropes around his wrists and ankles made him move too slowly… while the rest of the previously screaming bystanders simply returned to their normal routine as if nothing was going on. Just as quickly as the crowd had appeared outside the Chief's home, all of the men and women were back to tending their livestock, and seemingly no longer interested in the Agent's fate.

" _Sigue moviendote pedazo de mierda_!" One of the women yelled, grabbing his hair to pull him along faster. " _Mas rapido mas rapido del lago no esperara_!"

This road went along a hill that sloped downward away from the village, curving around as it entered a low valley where the ground was soft and wet, while hosting a fog bank that made it impossible to see more than about thirty feet in front of himself, once inside. His captors must have realized that this gave Leon a better chance to escape, since the ones holding onto his arms quickly tightened their grip while the dirt underneath the Agent's feet became muddy.

Unlike the forest up near the village, where the trees were still alive, just losing their leaves because of the nipping cold, the ones down in the valley looked more like the rotted out old husks that would be seen around a swamp. Was that where they were taking him? A swamp? For a while it looked that way as the ground became muddier, but instead of a bayou waiting for him at their final destination, Leon was surprised to find himself being taken up to the shore of a large lake.

The water must have been warmer than the air, since there was a visible clearing for about two feet between the surface of the water and the cloud, allowing him to see a long wooden dock where several small fishing boats were tied off, as well as another group of villagers who appeared to be standing guard around another bound man who was kneeling on the ground. It took the Agent a moment to recognize him, while being pushed to his knees next to the other prisoner, but the light blue _policia_ jacket gave it away.

" _Estas vivo_! Pense que mataron a todos los demas!" The Officer exclaimed in disbelief. "Boy, am I glad to see _you_ , cowboy… please, _please_ , in the name of God, please tell me you got some crazy _Americano James Bond_ tricks up your sleeve to get us out of this."

From the bruises and swelling on his face, this Officer looked like he had been receiving the same _warm welcome_ to the village as the Agent had, but as much as Leon wished that he could have pulled some crazy trick out of his ass to save them both from whatever was about to happen, the bad news was that he was out of ideas for the moment. The villagers, on the other hand, seemed to have plenty, since their boots could be seen moving up and down the dock, pouring what looked like fuel into the small trolling motors on the back of their boats, and… huh, chainsaws _and_ fishing motors? So much for the simple life.

" _Entras en el bote_!" The one who had picked up the revolver growled, pointing the empty weapon threateningly. " _Te quedas ahi y miras lo que te espera_."

"What are they saying?" Leon asked as some of the color drained from the Officer's face. "What are they gonna do with us?"

But the Officer didn't answer, instead giving the villager who made him stand up a sudden head butt, before trying to make a run for it. Apparently whatever these lunatics told him was not very pleasant, since the man had to be tackled to the muddy ground and then dragged, kicking and screaming, back over to the dock, where they simply picked him up in order to toss the Officer into the nearest boat. The revolver might not have bene loaded, but it was more than enough to make him stop resisting when it was brought across the Officer's head with a loud _whack_ , and then the boat's motor, as well as two others, were started a few seconds later.

The motors must have been old and in need of repair, since it took several pulls of the cord to get them going, adding little puffs of thick black smoke to the fog bank above as the three small craft moved away from the dock. Even with the small window of clarity over the lake's surface, it was really hard to see what was happening, especially as the boats got farther away, coming to a stop somewhere around what looked like the center.

 _Splash_! Something either fell, or was tossed off one of the boats, but since the fog only allowed him to see a few inches above the sides of each wooden craft, it wasn't until the light blue jacket came back up to the surface, that Leon realized his comrade had been tossed into the water. No big deal, he thought at first… as long as the cop didn't panic, it was possible to stay floating no matter how someone's arms were tied, and thankfully the Officer realized this too, getting onto his back, and starting to kick away from the boats toward the far off shoreline… so why weren't the villagers trying to stop him?

" _Vete a la mierda gilipollas_!" The Officer yelled as he moved farther away from them. " _Cuando salga de aqui voy a traer a la policia y al ejercito a quemar este lugar para el_ …

Suddenly the water rippled, causing the three boats to bounce slightly up and down in the murky water, before the Officer's words were cut off when he was suddenly pulled violently underwater. _Splash_! All was quiet for a few seconds, but then the man reappeared, looking terrified as he struggled to swim back toward the boats, but not getting very far as something _big_ suddenly broke the surface of the water.

Because of the fog, the Agent could only see a tiny portion of what was happening; only that something gigantic had risen up from the depths, rocking the boats so hard that some of the villagers almost fell out as it overtook the Officer so that his scream was cut off once again… and then everything got quiet again after the… whatever the _hell_ that thing was slipped back beneath the waves. Another strange thing was that unlike during all of the other executions that Leon had seen where the villagers treated it like a party, this time everyone, both in the boats and on shore, remained completely silent… at least until everyone came back.

As soon as the others from the boats were back on the shore, everyone started cheering and yelling as if they had just watched their team win the World Cup, but Leon just knelt there, staring in disbelief at the visible part of the lake… and feeling a knot in his stomach as he realized that he was able to confirm yet _another_ of the Officers' deaths. One in the van, four in town, one in the well, and one in the lake… if the remaining one of them had somehow still managed to survive, the Agent could only hope that he had managed to get himself far, _far_ away from this madhouse.

" _Que opinas del lago forastero_?" The one with the empty revolver asked, tapping him on the head with the barrel. " _No te preocupes queda mucho espacio dentro_."

Whatever he said must have been funny, because all of the surrounding villagers started laughing, but what they hadn't realized was that they had made the same mistake as before when capturing him… while making sure to get his revolver, the villagers had completely neglected his knife, as if they didn't consider it to be a threat. Well, he was sure to change their minds, since from the moment when they came to grab the Officer, everyone was so focused on the spectacle taking place that they hadn't seen the Agent stretching to get his blade… then carefully sawing it back and forth against the ropes until they broke.

Now waiting until the one with his revolver grabbed his arms to make him stand up, the deranged man's laughter turned into a surprised outcry when Leon stuck the blade into the side of his neck all the way to the hilt. Grabbing the revolver, and then yanking out the blade while kicking his captor in the chest, the Agent started backing up toward the dock, trying not to drop anything as he opened the chamber, and put a single bullet in from his belt.

"Get back!" He ordered, sheathing the knife so that he could hold the revolver with both hands. "I said get back!"

 _Bang_! A woman with a butcher knife was the first to advance toward him, snarling like an animal as she raised the blade threateningly, only to gasp and fall backwards onto some of the others when a bullet hole suddenly appeared between her eyes. The others were distracted for as long as it would take them to move her body out of the way and come after him, and since the Agent had only managed to load a single bullet into the cylinder, the only thing he could think of to do was get into one of the boats and risk crossing the lake.

Even as frightening as it had been to watch what happened to that Officer, Leon had noticed that the creature out there had ignored the boats, so maybe it would ignore him as well. It was either that, or risk Chief Mendez coming after him again after finding out that he had escaped his guards… for the _fourth_ time. Pulling on the cord as hard as he could, the boat's small motor finally came to life, allowing the Agent to move away from the dock, but not before two of the villagers managed to dive into the wooden craft as well.

Whack! Striking one of them on the skull with the revolver, the boat suddenly accelerated to full speed when the villager fell onto the throttle, but Leon wasn't able to do anything about this, since it happened while the second villager was tackling him. She was pretty strong for a woman, attempting to pin him down while she bit and clawed at the Agent like a wild animal, and now her companion was coming to help her… stopped only by Leon managing to kick the motor's control handle, causing him to cry out when the boat's sudden left turn caused him to fall overboard with a small _splash_.

Now the wooden craft was going around in circles while Leon struggled to keep the deranged woman, who was now straddling him, from biting his throat out. Jamming his elbow into her neck to keep her teeth from reaching him, the Agent grabbed one of her hands, causing her to shriek in pain when he broke one of her fingers with a loud _snap_. Her grip loosening enough for him to grab the front of her shirt and head butt her in the nose, Leon moved his feet up until they were underneath her stomach, and then pushing with all his might, causing her scream to be cut off as she fell into the water.

Okay, now that the threat was over, he needed to get the boat back under control, so the Agent grabbed the motor's control arm, only to realize that he had no idea which direction the shore was in… no wait, he could see the two swimming villagers while looking underneath the fog bank. Okay they were behind them, so that meant that the opposite shore must be… hey, where did the first one go? He was there a second ago, and… and it felt like Leon's stomach dropped down into his feet when he saw the woman vanish underneath the waves a second later… before seeing something _big_ moving under the water… as it came right toward him.


	18. Chapter 18 Del Lago

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Eighteen: Del Lago**

As Leon watched the rippling water as the monster below the waves got closer, he realized the mistake that he had made while using the plan of stealing the villagers' boat. Whereas they had slowly trolled their way out to the center of the lake and stopped moving completely, so that the bound Officer was the only thing to attract its attention, the Agent's trip out into the center had been fast, thanks to the villager who fell against the boat's throttle. The two swimming villagers had certainly caught its attention, but with the motor only now getting under control, this… whatever was down there, had zeroed in on him as well.

So what was it, Leon wondered as he cranked up the throttle to get out of its path? Some kind of pre-historic beast like the _Loch Ness Monster_ of _Scotland_? Whatever it was, it was _huge_ , and the Agent was actually glad that he could only see bits and pieces as it attempted to catch the boat with its mouth, thanks to the heavy fog. What he _did_ manage to see was a large, gaping maw that was big enough to easily swallow a man whole, followed by a discolored, brownish yellow body that moved kind of like a fish… as it changed direction in order to follow him.

Fortunately for Leon, the small wooden craft was just a little bit faster than the aquatic monster at full throttle, however he had also become all turned around during his fight with that deranged woman, leaving the Agent with no idea where to go. According to Hunnigan, the church where Ashley Graham was supposedly being held was on the far side of the lake from the village, but there was no way for him to see where _either_ of the shores were, thanks to the fog, which he was suddenly not so thankful for.

Like a fish chasing a bated hook, the aquatic monster stayed right with him, no matter which direction he turned the boat, so Leon decided to simply pick a direction and abandon the fishing craft entirely, in favor of literally any patch of land that he could leap onto. Cutting the motor hard to the right, just after getting a good look at the creature's mouth, which was nothing but an empty hole that was filled with what looked like ensnaring tentacles, the Agent was starting to feel good about his chances of escaping… until getting close enough to the edge of the lake to see nothing but a massive rock wall.

"Oh shit!" He yelled, turning hard to the left just in time to avoid smashing into the stone surface.

Wasn't it just his luck to head right toward the part of the lake that was bordered with a God damn cliff? Even with the fog obscuring his view, the Agent could tell that the rock wall was too high for him to reach the top of, while being _way_ too smooth for a climbing attempt, but at least he got the satisfaction of feeling the whole landscape rumble a little when the underwater mass slammed right into the cliff head-first. Leon hoped that the impact would kill the thing, or at least knock it out for a while, but no, the thing was barely stunned, turning to resume the chase after only a couple seconds.

There had still been no time to reload the revolver, not that such a small weapon would have been any good against the massive aquatic beast, and there was nothing useful in the boat itself… heh, what he wouldn't have given to have a _harpoon gun_ or some _dynamite_ right about now. Okay, Leon, stay focused, the cliff wall has to end sometime, right? So he kept the boat moving right along the edge, with the good news being that a useable shore came into view a short time later.

Only problem was that it was the same shore where the villagers were still waiting, each of them now running out onto the dock, before throwing their tools and small stones at him when they realized that he was still alive. With as many faults as these insane people had, one thing they were _really_ good at was the use of throwing weapons, since there was suddenly an intense pain in the Agent's shoulder while he was turning far enough away to not run into the dock.

At first he thought that he had been hit by a rock or something, but the pain didn't stop, instead intensifying to the point where he could no longer sit up straight or hold onto the motor's control arm with his right hand… and then Leon noticed the blood that was running down the sleeve of his shirt. Crying out in agony as he tried to turn his head far enough to look at the wound, the Agent was shocked to see that there was a large kitchen knife sticking out of the top of his arm… just as the ripples in the water reached the dock.

 _Crash_! The villagers screamed as the wooden structure they were standing on was completely destroyed, snapping boards in half while the deranged people were thrown violently into the water. Groaning as he switched to his left hand in order to keep control of the boat, the Agent was comforted by the fact that the aquatic beast now had more than a dozen swimming targets to go after instead of him, along with the fact that all of the other boats had been destroyed with the dock… but it seemed that the monster had gained a taste for him, since it ignored the others.

"Aw, fuck!" Leon groaned, realizing that some of the blood from his wound was getting into the water. "No, no, no, no!"

Twisting his body so that the blood was dripping down onto the floor instead, the Agent already knew that it was too late, since most aquatic predators could smell blood from miles away, and wounded targets were always preferable to healthy ones. It was also traveling much faster now, stirred up into some kind of blood fury that allowed it to rapidly gain on the small fishing boat; opening its maw and emitting a gurgling roar as its ensnaring tentacles waved back and forth as if separate animals, each preparing to fight over the next meal.

Then it leapt, letting out a much clearer roar as its whole massive body jumped out of the water like a surfacing whale, the whole thing sailing right over Leon's head before coming back down right in front of the boat… with the very end of its tail hitting the front. There was so much force behind the blow that the wooden craft was both tipped forward and broken in half at the same time, sending the Agent flying through the air while what was left of his vehicle of escape sank into the depths.

Instead of simply falling into the water, though, Leon kept up with the partially surfaced monster for a second or two, riding further along when he bounced and slid across its rubbery, slime-coated back, and then feeling the knife get yanked very painfully out of his back when he finally hit the water. Becoming fully submerged himself for a moment, the Agent's hurt arm made pulling himself back to the surface difficult, although he was spurred on by the knowledge that the aquatic beast was only going to take a few seconds to turn back around and come after him again.

Taking in a coughing, choking breath as soon as his head was above water, Leon started swimming as fast as he could, with no other option than to follow the cliff wall in a kind of awkward back stroke. During this time more of his blood was getting into the water, and since the monster hadn't submerged itself all the way, he was able to see when it finally turned around to renew his pursuit. The thing must have been going a lot faster than it was used to, because it actually took a lot longer than usual to turn itself around, but when it did it came with a vengeance.

Kicking as hard as he could, the Agent knew that he didn't have a chance to get away without the boat, and as the lake's waves got bigger with the aquatic beast's approach, Leon was starting to panic when it opened its mouth… but then his foot touched solid ground. Yes, it was dirt and rocks that were underneath his boots now, allowing him to move with increased speed while continuing to back away from the approaching monster, until he was able to completely stand up.

Splashing and stumbling while holding onto his wounded arm, the terrain continued to slope upward until the Agent found himself falling backwards, not into more water or the rock wall, but a tiny gravel covered beach that was accessible only through a small slot in the cliff side that was just big enough to accommodate the wooden dock that Leon was now grabbing onto in order to pull himself onto dry land. He figured that with himself no longer being in the water, that the aquatic beast would get discouraged, but instead the monster just kept coming; roaring and increasing speed as it came right toward the dock.

The trail of blood led right up from the water to where he was standing, and the monster didn't even seem to notice the dock as a majority of the wooden pieces flew right into its mouth as it rammed through. Roaring again as it slammed into the shore with enough force to send its rubbery body sliding right up the beach, Leon did not have the time nor the strength to dive out of the way, and its ensnaring tentacles would have grabbed him for sure, if the aquatic beast's body hadn't been too big for it to fit through.

Well, it started to get through, he imagined because of all the slime coating its outer skin, but then the monster stopped when it found itself wedged right between them. Now it couldn't get to the Agent, nor could this big… fish looking… sea monster thing get back into the water, and now it was the aquatic beast's turn to panic. It roared and flailed around uselessly, only succeeding in getting itself stuck even more, with the rocks starting to cut into its flesh after its slimy coating dried up in the open air.

Leon didn't need to stay there to watch the monster's inevitable death; he was just glad to have somehow escaped the fate that had claimed that poor Officer and who even _knew_ how many others in this place? So he turned away and started to slowly limp his way up the beach, heading for the trail that was becoming visible as he started to get away from the fog bank, but then he started to hurt again… not in his wounded arm, but… seeming to come from his entire body at once… hard to move.

It felt like all of his muscles were tightening up a lot more than they should at the same time, while a burning sensation engulfed him as if he were being stabbed with a hundred red-hot pokers at once. It was getting hard to take a breath, hard to see, hard to walk, and then something seemed to construct around his… everything, making Leon scream at the top of his lungs as he fell over onto the ground. He tried to get up, but the slightest movement just made the burning sensation worse, as if there were something inside of him that was just… stabbing him all over the place as he started shaking uncontrollably.

"H… help!" He called in a hoarse, barely audible whisper as the convulsions got worse. "H… h…


	19. Chapter 19 A Short Rest

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Nineteen: A Short Rest**

Fading in and out of consciousness while lying helpless on the rocky beach, Leon was only dimly aware of his surroundings, including how the sky looked just a little bit darker each time the Agent struggled to open his eyes, while he seemed to be in a different position after a while… as if something were pulling him along. He tried to fight off whatever had taken him, his arms flailing uselessly while it became harder to open his eyes… although Leon _did_ notice how nice his captor smelled, and he thought he heard a female groan of frustration when his arms were restrained.

Then he was falling, landing on something that was actually kind of soft, just before the village and everything else around him disappeared, leaving the Agent feeling exceptionally comfortable as his eyes opened to reveal a beautiful sunny day. Palm trees swayed softly in the warm breeze, while he sipped a _Luau Coconut_ from a coconut, leaning back and resting comfortably in his white lounge chair, surrounded by the white sands of this tropical paradise.

Sighing with happiness as he set down the empty shell, he was just starting to close his eyes, when a shadow stood over him, prompting the Agent to see that there was an attractive blonde woman in a green bikini standing over him. She set down another full Luau Coconut for him while simply knocking the other one down onto the sand, before taking off her sunglasses to reveal a familiar face… one that he had not seen since Raccoon City, but not one that he would have expected.

"Hey, I know you." He said with a surprised tone, but not hating the view as she sat down on the chair with him. "Aren't you… aren't you Sherry's mom?"

"Oh Leon, I _love_ it when you're clueless." Annette Birkin replied, now lying partially on top of him as if they were lovers. "My _husband_ was a _smart_ man… I _hate_ smart men."

The Agent wasn't sure how to take that last comment, but quickly forgot about it when they started kissing. It was funny… Leon had never been into older women before, but this was actually kind of hot, and she had the whole _MILF_ thing going on, so he figured he would just sit back and enjoy it… right up until the point where Annette sat up, pulled her hand back, and slapped him really hard across the face.

"Wake up!" A man's voice yelled angrily as the next slap caused the Agent's eyes to snap open for a second. "Wake up, damn it!"

His eyes closed again for a second in between slaps, briefly returning Leon to the tropical paradise, but then she slapped him again, causing her smiling face to be replaced by the purple mask and hood of that Merchant. Now fully roused from the dream, albeit still heavily disoriented as the next slap caused him to fall off the bed onto the dried wooden floor… wait, a bed? How had he gotten in bed? Where was he?

In the small amount of orange light that was coming in through the windows of this place, the Agent could tell that he was inside of what looked like a small cabin. A lot of time must have passed, since the sun was setting, and as his mind and vision came back into focus, Leon was able to hear the sound of heavy rain falling onto the roof above. But how had he gotten there from… oh… the last thing he remembered was scrambling up toward the beach to get away from that monster, and… well, nothing.

"Well, ain't you just a pretty sight?" The hooded man asked, using a match to light an old lantern after closing the shutters. "Here I was, just starting to gain the _slightest_ amount of respect for you, and then what do I find? The great _Leon S. Kennedy_ napping on the job… disgraceful."

"Screw you, pal!" Leon snapped, shaking his head to try and clear the last of the fog. "You don't know what I just went through, all right? And for your information, I wasn't napping, I… I think I passed out."

He remembered a wound on his shoulder, which was neatly cleaned up and bandaged when he looked down at it, but how had he gotten into that bed? The Agent _vaguely_ remembered someone helping him along before having that awkward dream about Annette Birkin, but it couldn't have been the Merchant, since not only did he and the one who helped him not smell the same, but he also didn't seem the type who would have given him that kind of assistance out of the kindness of his heart.

"Oh, I'm sorry _Princess_ , did I hurt your feelings?" The hooded man asked before taking something out of his backpack. "Then I guess you'd rather me just leave, and take _this_ with me, then?"

He laughed a little while dropping something on the small wooden table next to the lantern, and then Leon saw what it was, he found himself instinctively reaching up to grab it. With everything that had been going on since arriving at the village, the Agent hadn't realized just how hungry he really was, since his last meal had been with the _policia_ traveling with him before starting up the mountain trail this morning. An old US Army _Meal Ready to Eat_ was not exactly his preferred choice of cuisine, but it wasn't like there was much else to choose from.

"Thanks, I uh… appreciate this." Leon said, tearing into the first package. "So you deal in both guns _and_ food, now?"

"I already told you, kid." The Merchant said, sitting down on the floor across from him, since there were no chairs. "I deal in _exactly_ what you need at the time… be it weapons, food… or a swift kick in the ass."

Leon started eating while the hooded man sighed as if in need of a rest, himself, but the question that was burning in the Agent's mind was how the Merchant had been able to find him again after they separated. The answer he got was that the hooded man just followed the angry shouts of the villagers, which was a lot easier than finding a way around that lake without a boat… but then the hooded man commented that when Leon was on his own, he was amazingly easy to track, but that didn't make any sense… weren't people harder to follow when they were alone?

"So, who was it, went and dragged you in here?" The Merchant asked, adjusting his scarf. "Don't tell me you _finally_ went and got yourself a girlfriend… one of the locals catch your fancy, did she?"

"I don't know who brought me here." The Agent replied in between mouthfuls of mediocre food. "And how do you know it was a _woman_ at all?"

His response was that just before it started raining, when the hooded man was following the drag marks to this cabin, and he spotted a footprint embedded deep in the soft mud. Size was _way_ too small to be Luis's, and the heel was both higher and narrower than a typical man's boot, with the depth of the impression being too shallow for the wearer to have weighed much of anything. The pressure on the print was also evenly distributed, usually caused by the gyrating of women's hips, whereas men tended to favor one side when they walked.

"You got _all that_ from _one_ muddy footprint?" The Agent asked after swallowing again. "I guess the Agency really knows how to pick'em… that's who you are, right? The _CIA Investigator_ who's been sending headquarters pictures of me getting beat up? I should've _known_ you'd be an asshole… must be a job prerequisite for being a detective."

"Be thankful, kid… I'm not _supposed_ to be helping you at all." The Merchant answered. "Not that you should need it, being the President's _golden boy_ and all… heh… _no one but Agent Kennedy goes anywhere near my daughter_ … guess old Graham figures you like _boys_ , then. But, oi, if you don't mind me asking, what have you got against detectives, anyhow?"

The answer to that question before 2001 would have been _nothing at all_ , but after everything that had happened onboard the Starlight ocean liner, where one of his main enemies had once _been_ a detective, well… the answer was different now. Just like how the hooded man did his investigations, Tobias Liquid had been able to learn an entire sequence of events from the tiniest clue, not to mention easily tracking the Agent all across the ship no matter where he tried to run… God, if not for Reynaldo's help, Leon never would have been able to avoid the yellow eyed man until help arrived.

"The details really aren't important." The Agent explained. "In the end he was nothing but another terrorist, and I left him floating face down in the swimming pool on a sinking ship, with a bullet in his back."

" _Bessie-mates_ , then, were you?" The Merchant asked with a slight laugh as he got up. "All right, _sweetheart_ , break's over; I know you and your _copper pals_ thought you were gonna be on your way back to civilization within an hour, but it looks like you and me are working the _night shift_... chin up, though… most of your buddies ain't _leaving_ at all."

There was something angry about the way the hooded man said that last part, before offering his hand to help Leon get up to his feet. The food helped, but he was still feeling a little weak, so the Agent accepted the hand-up, somewhat surprised with how easily the Merchant lifted him. According to Hunnigan's Intel about the terrain, the church where Ashley was being held was just up the hill from where they were, assuming they were still by the lake, and now the hooded man was reloading his revolver, so Leon did the same.

"Hey, you're getting better at that." The Merchant said after the cylinder was closed. "All right, you ready to go shoot up a church and save the girl? I figure you can't even manage to _feed_ yourself, so I better go and keep watch… don't worry, kid, you'll get all the credit."

That last statement wasn't fair, even though in this case it was sort of true. Leon and the Officers had figured that the rescue mission wouldn't last more than a couple hours, so they had only brought a few supplies… all of which were inside the van that was forced over that cliff near the bridge. However, the next thing the hooded man asked was whether or not the Agent's _new girlfriend_ was going to join them, or if he was embarrassed to bring her around his friends?

"Let's just go, all right?" Leon asked, moving toward the door. "We've already lost enough time, and with everything that's happened to me so far, who even _knows_ what they've been doing to Ashley… if she's even still alive."


	20. Chapter 20 The Faithful Shall Pass

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Twenty: The Faithful Shall Pass**

Everything about this place looked different now that the landscape was bathed with a dim orange glow from the setting sun, but this did nothing to help with the temperatures that now seemed to be falling even lower, not to mention the pouring rain that soaked Leon in a matter of seconds after leaving the cabin. The cold temperatures helped with the pain in his shoulder, dulling it to the point where he had almost full range of motion again, which helped since thanks to the rain and encroaching darkness, it was no longer going to be as easy to see approaching threats.

As he and the hooded man slowly made their way up the path, since the cabin turned out to still be relatively close to the lake, the Agent struggled to see and hear what was around him, and… and actually started to feel like he had been spoiled in certain regards during Raccoon City and onboard the Starlight. Not that those two outbreak situations had been easy or anything, but instead of big open areas where a threat could come out from the darkness at any time, at least there had been things like _power_ and _lights_ , not to mention that the walls of the police station had shielded him from many of the dangers outside.

"So all joking aside, how did _you_ get picked for this job, anyhow?" The Merchant asked quietly after the trail curved around some rocks. "I mean, you _don't_ speak the language, you're just about the _worst_ tracker I've ever met, and you're about as subtle as an _epileptic_ playing _hopscotch_ … sounds to me like someone in charge wither really likes you… or really hates you."

"Well, don't flatter me _too_ much, I might _blush_." The Agent replied sharply after checking that the path ahead was still clear. "And for your information, out of everyone in the Secret Service, I just happen to have the _most_ experience in extreme situations… and President Graham thinks that I'm _honorable_ when it comes to young women."

In response to this, the hooded man started laughing, sounding like he had to use physical effort to keep himself from making too much noise, before asking whether or not the President knew what happened to all the _other_ women who were involved in missions with him. It was true that there was a track record of… _unfortunate_ things happening to the women around him; Annette Birkin was killed by her mutated husband, Ada Wong fell off a bridge, Amanda Pricely was shot after being infected by Gillette Liquid's spores, and Captain Cora's body burned up after being infected with Tobias Liquid's virus.

"In your file, it says that only _Claire Redfield_ and _Sherry Birkin_ survived meeting you." The hooded man continued. "Now, I know that Claire was at Rockfort Island, and good on you for helping Redfield find her, but what happened to Sherry? Raccoon City must have been hard for a kid like her… she all right?"

"If you haven't been told, it's probably beyond your clearance level." Leon answered, happy to be able to stump this guy on something. "Besides, what do you care? The G-Virus sample was lost back in '98, and it's not like you actually _care_ about the kid."

The Merchant just shrugged as they reached the top of a small hill, but then the two of them stopped walking, ducking down behind another large rock when a light source came into view. At first Leon thought it was the church, but instead of coming from a building, the flickering orange light of a dozen large torches was cast on the area surrounding what looked like… an old fashioned barrier wall?

On both sides of a heavy metal gate, there stood walls made from entire tree trunks by the look of it, lashed together almost thirty feet high with points at the top like the original British settlements in the new world back in the 1600's or whenever. The walls were solid, curving around on both sides until they went out of sight, as if creating an enclosed space, and somehow the torches along the top didn't go out, in spite of the wind and rain. There were no villagers in sight as the two of them approached, moving from covered spot to covered spot, but it was soon discovered that the gate was open, while some words were carved into the wall above.

 _LOS VERDADEROS Y FIELES PASARAN SIN MIEDO_

"It says _the true and faithful shall pass without fear_." The hooded man said, pointing across the words as he read them. "Could be the outer gate for the church property… some kind of symbolic passageway to faith, or something."

"Maybe… but I don't see anyone around." The Agent replied, leaning out of cover to see through the gate. "Just looks like an open passageway… hey, maybe we got lucky, and there's no one here because none of the villagers could get back across the lake without their boats."

Whatever the case was for this place being abandoned, Leon wasn't about to miss this opportunity to get to the church without having to fight for every inch of ground, so he stayed crouched down while coming out from behind the rock, and then putting his back up against the tree wall just off to the side of the gate. Slowly leaning around the corner to see what was there, the light from all the torches wasn't good enough to illuminate anything beyond more sections of wall… and another open gate on the other side.

"Take this one slow, kid." The hooded man warned, making the Agent jump a little when he realized that he was now pressed up against the wall right next to him. "Make sure you watch for ambushes on the ground, snipers on the wall, and any other kind of…

"These people aren't going to stage a complicated ambush." Leon interrupted with an annoyed tone as he moved around the gate. "They're like… they're like ants who only attack from instinct and on direct orders, so trust me, if they knew we were here, they would already be…

 _Twang_! Freezing in place when he felt his foot hit something, the Agent could just barely see that it was a stretched rope, and then something released behind him, causing the sound of large wooden gears to fill the air as they turned, and then the whole landscape shook when the gate slammed shut behind him with a deafening _wham_! The other gate had slammed shut as well, leaving him trapped inside what he had correctly assumed was a very large, enclosed space… but Leon had failed to notice the _other_ door, until it started to open.

Embedded flat against the part of this area that consisted of a solid rock face so that it couldn't be seen in the light of the setting sun, that all changed when a section of the tree wall began to raise up in reaction to some villagers who were turning a large wheel, showing that it was pointed on the bottoms as well when from inside there was the light of even more torches on the wall of a long tunnel… no, wait, they were being carried by villagers… a dozen of them, who were lighting the way for another group who were… pulling on some really heavy ropes?

"Oh _no_ , they don't know _how_ to stage an ambush, right?" The Merchant asked, looking in through the small viewing grate in the door. "Well, if you're not in too much of a hurry to listen this time, _your highness_ , might I suggest that you find a way out of there, before… what the hell is that?"

 _Thud_ … _thud_ … _thud_ … instead of attacking him right away, the villagers pulling the ropes seemed to be struggling against something that was still concealed inside the darkness, so much in fact that the others had to drop their torches and assist them in pulling when whatever was at the other end nearly yanked all of them off their feet. As curious as Leon was to see what was there, however, he knew that it was probably going to be something unpleasant, so the Agent turned away in order to start looking for a way to open the gate.

Unfortunately, even though the wooden gears were in plain sight, there was no way to turn them, and they were too heavy to destroy, while the rope that snagged his foot seemed to have simply pulled out of wherever it was anchored… damn it, there wasn't enough light to see. The thudding sound was getting louder as the villagers shouted at each other, probably trying to work together better in order to pull… suddenly the monstrosity at the end of the rope reached the end of the tunnel, revealing that it was more than half as tall as the tree wall.

Looking mostly humanoid, with the same off colored skin as the villagers, this thing's facial features were overly accented and deformed in ways other than the fact that it was thirty feet tall, with the heavy ropes tied around its neck, and eyes that flickered red in the torchlight… no, wait… no they weren't flickering… the things eyes were _glowing_ a dim red color that was only now visible as the sun finished setting… as were the rest of the villagers'. What the fuck, why were their eyes glowing red?

Simple lunatics' eyes didn't glow red, no matter _how_ crazy they were, and if it wasn't a virus that was causing these people to act this way, then… then it had to be something else entirely, but what? Suddenly the giant threw its head back, lifting several of the villagers still holding onto the ropes up into the air as it roared. Saliva sprayed from its mouth as the booming noise went on, and then it raised up its huge fist, and made the whole area shake when it crushed several of the villagers flat.

Now seeming to realize that they were in danger, too, the villagers let go of the ropes and ran away, but three of them had only gotten a few steps when they were also crushed underneath the monster's gigantic foot. Now the giant was rampaging as it moved the rest of the way from the tunnel on its own, snarling and drooling as it sent some of the villagers flying over the wall with a swing of its great arm, and even picked up one of them so that it could completely crush their body in one hand as if a child crumpling up a candy bar wrapper.

Using this distraction to find a way to reopen the gates, Leon ignored the sound of the villagers being crushed or trampled, but try as he might, there just did not seem to be a way to work the wooden gear mechanism from within the walls… but then the noise stopped after one final stomp of the giant's feet… and the Agent turned around to see that with no other targets left, the monster's glowing red eyes were now focused right on him.


	21. Chapter 21 El Gigante

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Twenty One: El Gigante**

The only thing that Leon had ever seen that could cause significant mutations in people were engineered viruses, but if there was no trace of such things inside of the blood of the villagers sampled by the CIA Investigator, then how did he explain the twenty foot tall monstrosity that was standing right in front of him. The giant seemed to become even more imposing as the sunlight dimmed further, giving dominance to the glow coming from the torches on top of the tree wall, making the monster seem more like a moving shadow as the pouring rain bounced off its shoulders.

 _Bang_! After seeing what this thing had done to the villagers who were bringing it out, the Agent knew that it was coming to kill him, so he drew his revolver, and fired a shot right at the things off-colored face. Catching it right in the nose in mid-growl, the giant stopped for a second, twitching and rubbing its nose with its big hand as if it had been stung by a bee, only to grit its teeth and growl angrily while reaching down to pick up a large rock. There was plenty of such debris scattered around this enclosed space; tools, tree trunks, and carts left lying there as if this had once been part of the village's mines, or…

Suddenly the giant interrupted Leon's thoughts by pulling back its arm and throwing the large rock at him, and even though the Agent was easily able to dive and roll out of the way, there was so much force when the rock hit the tree wall behind him, that he was knocked on his face while tiny broken pieces of the rock rained down on him. _Bang_! _Bang_! Remaining there where he was, lying on his stomach on the wet dirt, Leon fired two more shots at the giant, causing it to twitch and grunt again when the bullets hit it in the hand and the knee… not expecting to really hurt the thing, just stop it from moving long enough for him to come up with a plan.

The doors on both sides of this place were still locked down, and now there was no sign of the Merchant, either, making the Agent feel even more alone and uneasy than before… how the hell was he going to get out of this one? He couldn't see anything that could be used to hide behind, although there were some mining tools lying around that could be used if he ran out of bullets… not that they would help much… hey, look at _that_ … there was a _crack_ in the tree wall from where the rock had landed.

 _Bang_! Firing another shot as he got to his feet and turned toward the wall, Leon hoped that the monster would be distracted by the bullet going into its throat, at least enough for it to be unable to stop his escape attempt. Among the random tools that the Agent had been given for his assignment, there was a small grappling hook that was attached to a long retractable tether; only strong enough to hold a little more than his own body weight, and needing to be thrown by hand, he took the metal object out of its pouch, swinging it around a few times before releasing it when he reached the base of the tree wall.

Losing sight of the grapnel for a second as it flew upward, the small object reappeared in the light of the torches before sinking into the wet wood just below the spikes, and as soon as Leon was sure it was securely anchored, he jumped up to begin climbing. Pulling on the tether so that it retracted a little as he went, the Agent kept his feet braced against the wall like in that old _Batman_ TV show, but the rain had made the wood slippery, and except for the large crack, there weren't really that many places to set his feet.

He had hoped to be able to climb much faster, but the slippery, water-soaked wood wasn't doing him any favors, and Leon had needed to holster the revolver in order to climb, so there was nothing he could do to defend himself when the giant's massive hand suddenly closed around his body. Pulling him from the wall and dislodging the grapnel as easily as if a child pulling down a floating balloon, the monster brought him right up to its face, allowing the Agent to smell it's incredibly fowl breath when it rotated him around for a closer look.

It's leathery, discolored hand was big enough to keep Leon's arms and legs restrained, and even more so when it started to squeeze. Its thumb and fingers acting with the power of an industrial vice as they constricted like an Anaconda, the Agent could only move his head back and forth, struggling for breath as his face started to turn red. Soon he could take in no breath at all, his mouth hanging open as he drooled and twitched, all of the veins in his neck and head becoming pronounced as a tunnel of darkness began to form around his vision.

 _BANG_! At first Leon thought it was a clap of close thunder that echoed around the enclosed space, but then he realized that it was a gunshot when the giant's right eye exploded from the impact. Suddenly able to move again as the fingers released, the Agent was so focused on taking that first gasping breath of fresh air, that he hadn't even realized that the monster had dropped him until he fell onto the soaked dirt below. Above him, though, the monster was screaming in a mixture of pain and rage, its hand over the destroyed eyeball, and stumbling backwards several steps while the hooded man stepped into view.

Leon noticed that the gates on both sides of the enclosure were open now, and that the Merchant was coming in _opposite_ from the entrance Leon had used… carrying a large, bolt-action rifle in his hands. It was one of those ones where the barrel could be removed for transport, probably why the Agent hadn't seen it before, but he was _sure_ glad that it was there now as the hooded man worked the bolt before firing again.

"The door's open!" The Merchant yelled, his cockney accent fading significantly as he started to help Leon up. "Come on, kid, we gotta…

The Agent had just been getting to his feet, when the hooded man suddenly shoved him back down… himself diving out of the way when the giant stomped at them with its big foot. The whole enclosed area shook as if feeling the tremors of an earthquake when the foot came down, missing Leon by only a few feet as he still struggled for breath, but instead of reaching down to finish him off, the giant now growled in fury as it started going after the Merchant instead.

Circling around him in two large steps, as if it somehow understood that the hooded man was going to try running for the open doors on each side of the enclosed area, the monster reached for the Merchant like it had done to Leon, only to roar and twitch again when the next rifle shot broke a piece off of one of its rotten front teeth. The Merchant tried to run for the nearest door, only to be blocked by the giant's foot, so he changed directions toward the other one, but now the giant seemed to be learning.

Instead of grabbing at him again, the monster picked up another large rock, before sending it rolling across the terrain with an underhanded toss, resulting with a loud _crash_ when it bounced its way right past the hooded man, coming to rest so tightly inside of the entrance that Leon had used to enter the enclosed area, that it didn't look like the rock could ever be dislodged, at least without destroying the tree wall. This left the far door as the only possible way out, and with the giant now putting itself into position in front of it like the _goal-keep_ on a _football_ team, the Agent wasn't sure what they were going to do.

The bolt action rifle was hurting it a lot more than the revolver was, but the monster wasn't showing any signs of slowing down, and then it started approaching, shaking the enclosed area with each footstep. _BANG_! Quickly reloading the rifle and firing it into the back of the monster's neck when it started going after Leon again, the hooded man backed away as it resumed chasing him, this time not circling around the creature, but appearing to lead it back into the tunnel from which the villagers had dragged it from.

"Go, get out of here!" The Merchant yelled, firing another shot as the monster reached the entrance to the tunnel. "It can't chase us both at the same time, so go! Run!"

Leon didn't particularly like the hooded man, but not enough to just leave him there with the giant slowly cornering him inside the passage where it had been locked up, so after getting to his feet… well, at least up to a kneeling position, since he was still feeling the lingering pain of almost being crushed, the Agent took out the revolver and tried to aim. He didn't believe for a second that shooting the giant again would do serious harm, but it might distract the beast long enough for the Merchant to get away from it, and… and Leon was fairly sure that he could drag himself over to the gate before it reached him again.

 _Bang_! It was a big target, so he wasn't worried about being too accurate when he pulled the trigger, which was good because the Agent's arm was shaking a little, but instead of hearing the monster groan in reaction, he heard something _snap_ just before the tunnel's raised tree wall gate came crashing down. The giant had just been passing the entrance, and it looked up reflexively upon hearing the sound, only to have its surprised roar get cut off when the downward spike of one of the tree trunks went right into its mouth.

Forced to tilt its head back from the force of the crashing gate, the giant made a kind of gagging, choking sound as it collapsed onto its back, the whole enclosed area shaking violently in reaction to the combined weight of the monster and the gate both falling down, and then all was quiet. So what happened? Had his aim been so far off that the bullet hit the rope holding up the gate instead of the monster? Apparently so, since the gate was now completely on the ground, with the top half of the giant's head on this side, severed at the mouth in a puddle of disgusting yellow filth that must have been its blood.

"Good shot, kid!" The Merchant's muffled voice came from behind the gate, his accent completely restored. "Damn good shot… I didn't think you had it in you! Gate's kinda stuck, though… go find the girl, I'll see if this tunnel goes anywhere!"

"Hey, wait a second!" The Agent called back, struggling to get to his feet. "Hey, wait!"

No use, the hooded man was gone, probably having ran off through the tunnel to find a way out since the gate was no longer an option. This left Leon alone again, but hey, at least the giant was dead, so he opened the revolver's chamber, slowly reloading the weapon while walking toward the open entrance that would hopefully take him up to the old church where Ashley Graham was being held.


	22. Chapter 22 The Old Church

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Twenty Two: The Old Church**

With maybe a little more than fifteen minutes of dim red glow in the sky before night fell completely, and once again on his own, Leon carefully made his way toward the open gate that would take him closer to the old church. His whole body ached, and he felt like he hadn't slept in a week, regardless of having passed out after dealing with that aquatic monster… fumbling to reload his revolver once again, the Agent put his back against the wall, leaning around the corner to see what was waiting for him beyond the enclosed area… and finding something unexpected.

The far entrance had definitely been guarded, all right, protected by half a dozen villagers who were armed with their usual tools, but this time they were all dead. All of them lie in twisted, unnatural positions, some with arms or legs broken, while one's head was turned all the way all the way around… and their weapons were all lying right next to the bodies as if being armed had made no difference. Wait a second, this was the way the Merchant had come back into the enclosed area… and the wooden release lever was right there by the door.

So… somehow the hooded man had managed to get all the way around the enclosure, regardless of the fact that there was no visible way to do so, and then he had shot all of the villagers… wait a second, no… these bodies didn't have any bullet wounds, or even cuts from blades… it was as if these people had been killed with _bare hands_. But that was stupid, something else must have happened, like, uh… maybe one of the giant's thrown rocks had come over the wall and crushed them… yeah, that had to be it.

Regardless of these deaths, the Agent knew that he wasn't out of danger yet, so he kept the revolver ready, watching for any more threats, even though there was barely any light to see with beyond the torches on the enclosure… hey, what was that up ahead? Farther up the path he was on, Leon could see the dim outline of what looked like a building, and there was light coming from inside… colored light that was passing through what appeared to be stained-glass windows. Was it the church? Had he made it?

No other threats were jumping out of the shadows so far, but he needed to check in with headquarters, so the Agent took cover underneath a cloth awning where more tree trunks were stacked up, and crouched behind the wood before taking out his communicator. Thankfully the rain didn't obscure the signal, and it was nice to see the face of someone familiar when she appeared on the screen… although the first thing Hunnigan did was scold him for not checking in for more than six hours.

"I ran into some problems… _big_ ones." Leon replied, trying to hide the pain in his voice. "I'm almost at the church, though; I can see the stained-glass windows… Hunnigan… Hunnigan, I need backup."

" _Leon, I'm sorry, but a strike team's still not an option_." His operator replied. " _I pushed for it after you stopped checking in, but President Graham won't allow it until his daughter is safe. He's… he still worried that a larger force will spook the kidnappers, and he doesn't want to risk them harming her_."

The Agent was about out of patience at this point, immediately spitting back that maybe she should inform the President about the instinctual behavior of the villagers, not to mention the huge _lake monster_ , _and_ the twenty foot tall giant, if he wanted to talk about _spooky_ things. Leon had expected for Hunnigan to be surprised to hear about these monsters, but instead she just replied that they already knew about them, having received the CIA Investigator's last two reports, which again included pictures.

She sent them to his device right away, and when the first one finished downloading, the Agent saw that it was a daytime image taken from the shore of that lake, with the camera lens just _barely_ able to see the outline of himself being launched across the water just as the tail of the lake monster smashed his boat to pieces, through the fog. He was getting used to these shots of himself in embarrassing situations, but the second image actually stunned him.

It was sunset in the picture, with a mostly clear image of himself standing across from the giant while it was attacking the villagers, but the picture was taken from an upward angle looking downward, as if… as if the one with the camera had been standing on top of the spiked tree wall. This explained how the Merchant had been able to get around to the other side of the enclosure, but not how the hell he got over there in the first place. However, when Leon started to make inquiries into this guy's identity, Hunnigan quickly _shushed_ him, looking around as if to check if she was being watched, and then leaning toward the screen.

" _Leon, the President himself has ordered him not to go anywhere near you or Ashley_." She explained. " _You asked for backup, so I contacted him, and he agreed to assist you, but if anyone askes, you've never even heard of him, okay_? _So whatever happens, just go with it… I'm sorry, but it's the best I could do… now go get Ashley, and I'll give you the extraction details then_."

With that, the conversation was over, leaving the Agent to wonder what the hell Graham's problem was. He could understand the President wanting to keep his daughter safe, but why didn't he want the hooded man to go near her? If Leon ever found out that Sherry Birkin was in danger, he would have sent in anyone it took in order to save her… _anyone at all_ … oh man, the Agent's back was even more sore than he thought, his whole spine seeming to twinge for a second when he tried to get back up.

Okay, gotta get Ashley, he thought, taking another look around for threats before moving out from cover… the _cloak and dagger_ bullshit could wait, since he liked the idea of being extracted once the young woman was safe. She shouldn't be completely helpless, the Agent thought as he stepped back into the pouring rain, after all she was twenty years old, a year _older_ than Claire Redfield had been when the two of them ought through Raccoon City together… hell, even Sherry Birkin had done pretty good during that whole nightmare… and she had only been _twelve_ at the time.

Yeah, Leon thought as he made his way up the rest of the hill toward the darkened building at the top, it was going to be nice to work with someone who would have his back during the rest of this mess, instead of running off like Luis, and not just spending the whole time taking shots at him like the Merchant. Passing through a small graveyard filled with crooked, sometimes broken headstones, the Agent caught his breath upon reaching the top of the hill, using the light coming through the stained glass windows to see that there were no people around, and also to see that the darkened path continued onward past the building.

This was definitely the church, since there was a bell tower on top, quite possibly the one he had heard ringing earlier that morning, and the structure's construction was a mixture of old stone and newer bricks in areas that must have needed repair. The front double doors were solid wood, but there was a strange symbol burned into the center between them, sort of like an icon, but the likes of which Leon had never seen before. Trying the partially corroded metal latch, it turned easily, allowing more light to pour outward when he very slowly pulled open the door.

 _Creak_ , the hinges groaned loudly, but in the light from all the wall mounted torches and the huge wooden chandelier hanging above, the Agent was able to see that the inside of this place was just as abandoned as out there in the rain. Whole place was clean, though, immaculately to the point of there not even being any dust or dirt that could be found on the freshly stained wooden pews, nor on the alter at the front of the open chamber, and not even a smudge on the stained glass.

That same symbol was painted across the decorative relief that hung on the wall behind the alter, looking like it was a relatively new addition, since the white paint that had been used was in stark contrast to the hundreds of year old material behind it, but where was Ashley. Quickly moving around the main chamber, and finding it empty, Leon circled around behind it to discover that there was a narrow staircase behind one of the half-walls, leading up to a catwalk that wrapped around the central chamber… kind of like the walkway above the RPD's main hall.

Now that he had become aware of the villagers' ability to set traps and stage ambushes like almost normal people, the Agent moved a lot more slowly as he climbed up the stone stairs, reaching the top and then keeping his revolver ready as he took his time moving around the catwalk from one side to another. There wasn't a lot up there; a few more windows, some more torches that had mostly gone out, and what looked like a set of control pulleys for the bell above. He had seen how the people there were drawn to the ringing, and the last thing he wanted was for the whole damn _town_ to suddenly walk in, so he made sure to keep as far away from those ropes as he could.

Finally, after making his way around the entire walkway, and taking one last look over the stone guard wall to make sure that no one was walking around downstairs, Leon reached the second floor's last feature, which was an old wooden door that looked like it went into a storage room or something. Coming up close, and putting his ear to the wood, there were no noises coming from inside, at least none that he could hear… and if Ashley _was_ inside, then it was strange that the door wasn't locked when he tried the knob.

 _Click-creak_ , the hinges again as the door was slowly pushed open, but unlike the rest of the church, there was no light coming from inside the room beyond, causing him to have to use his small compact flashlight to see. It was a storage room, as he expected, with rows of empty wooden shelves lining the walls, but then something moved as he stepped inside, and the flashlight beam fell onto the room's sole occupant. She was blindfolded, with a gag tied around her mouth, forced to stay down on her heavily scraped knees, by the wall-anchored ropes that kept her arms spread out just about as far as they would go.

Her shoulder length blonde hair was greasy and matted down, probably from not being able to take a shower for so long, and there was dirt on the visible part of her arms and legs, too… yeah, a skirt and a really tight sleeveless turtleneck sweater were probably not the best idea for a trek through rural Spain… not that the poor girl _planned_ on getting kidnapped or anything. For a second the memory of that one Officer asking whether or not Ashley's boobs were real flashed through his mind, and now that he saw her, Leon didn't blame him for asking… I mean, they _were_ pretty big for a girl her size.

Now the young woman started pulling on the ropes, yelling something into the gag as if now becoming aware of his presence, and now the Agent realized how long he had been standing there like an idiot. Okay, the President's daughter was right there, and now all he had to do was untie her and get out of there.


	23. Chapter 23 Ashley Graham

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Twenty Three: Ashley Graham**

Thank frickin _Christ_ , Leon thought as he moved to the back of the room where the young woman was restrained. After spending what was probably the worst day of his life going through absolute hell, the Agent had finally found the President's daughter, but that didn't mean that there weren't still hundreds of deranged villagers prowling around, and he was sure that it was only a matter of time before someone wandered into the church, being that this place was a religious compound, and all.

"All right, Ashley, I know you're scared." He said, trying to use a reassuring tone that only partially covered up the pain in his voice. "I'm gonna untie you now, but I need you to stay calm and be quiet, okay?"

She winced and jerked backwards in reaction to feeling his hands as they untied the first rope, but she stayed still, even though the poor thing was shaking like a leaf. This whole experience must have been quite a shock for her; being kidnapped and then taken halfway around the world by a bunch of weirdos, only to be left tied up in an old storage room. Well, that was all over now, Leon thought as he freed her other arm, and he was just about to remove her blindfold, when Ashley suddenly jolted forward.

Caught completely off guard when she pushed him out of the way, the Agent groaned as he fell on his back against the hard stone floor, while Ashley struggled to remove her gag and blindfold while running for the exit. Unfortunately for her, the young woman wasn't able to see where she was going, and yelped in surprise when she tripped over Leon's legs, making her fall to the floor as well. Now crying out loudly while kicking at him, the young woman was just now being able to remove the gag and blindfold as she scooted away, and these struggles were only made worse by the Agent's attempts to grab her.

Yes, this girl was his target, and yes, he was supposed to keep her safe, but he needed to get her to calm down, because there was no way that a passing villager was going to miss all the noise she was making. Grunting when her foot caught him in the chin, and again when her other foot got him in the stomach, both he and the girl scrambled to their feet, with Ashley throwing the blindfold at him before starting to run out the door into the main chamber of the church. The only place that he could reach to grab her was by the back of her blonde hair, but this made the young woman scream when Leon pulled her back into the storage room, forcing him to have to clamp his other hand over her mouth.

"Ashley, stop, I'm here to rescue you!" He exclaimed, trying to stay quiet while she struggled and stomped down on his foot. "God damn it, Ashley, the _President_ sent me here to rescue you, but if you don't quiet the hell down you're gonna get us both killed!"

Suddenly she stopped struggling, with the Agent not sure if she was breathing so heavily through her nose because she was scared or simply out of breath, but at least the young woman had stopped trying to hit him, allowing Leon to catch his breath, himself, once he was ready to risk letting go of her. Slowly she turned around to face him after taking a step away; her eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep, and her hands trembling a little when she asked if her father had really sent him. Running a bit short on patience from his own ordeals, the Agent couldn't help asking if he looked _anything_ like the people of this place, but it kind of disturbed him when she replied that the guy who kidnapped her hadn't looked like them, either.

"Get me out of here! Take me home, I wanna go home!" She exclaimed, nearly knocking him over again when she ran up to hug him. "This place, these people… it's like a _nightmare_ , and… and, oh my _God_ , you look like hell."

"If you only _knew_ what I've been through in the past eight hours…" Leon began, stopping himself and pulling her out of the doorway so no one passing by could see. "Okay, I've gotta report back to headquarters, and tell them I got you, and then we'll get out of here, okay?"

Ashley did a quick nod, biting her lip while wringing her hands nervously, as if expecting to be recaptured and tied up again at any moment, but the Agent knew that she would be fine once they got extraction details from Hunnigan. Hopefully, it would be something _easy_ like a helicopter flying in, and not some crazy ordeal where the two of them had to walk twenty miles, or whatever. Quietly closing the storage room door, and then taking out his small communicator, Leon managed to smile a little when he reported to his operator that he had managed to locate and secure the target.

" _Oh, Leon, that's wonderful_!" Hunnigan said happily as her expression softened. " _President Graham is going to be thrilled… wow, you really are just as good as they say_."

"I'm glad you approve, Hunnigan." The Agent replied, again looking up to check for threats. "But right now I _really_ need to know how we're supposed to get out of here."

The operator cleared her throat, the look of pure professionalism returning to her face as she apologized, before calling up his location on her console. So far it was all good news, with Leon silently mouthing the word _yes_ when she told him that a helicopter was taking off from the airfield closest to the mountains right at that moment, and that it would only take a short time to reach them. The designated extraction point was the back yard of a large house that was close by, the old presbytery where the parish Priest would have lived, to be specific… if this were a _normal_ place, anyway.

"Hunnigan, I could _kiss_ you." He continued, with her raising her eyebrows in reaction. "All right, we're heading to the extraction point right now, Leon out."

Shutting down the radio, and then getting to his feet, the Agent stepped around the young woman, and then slowly opened the door to make sure that no one had wandered into the church. Passing through the door and looking down into the cathedral itself, Leon sighed with relief when he didn't see anyone, and he was just about to tell Ashley that it was safe to come out, when something rushed at him from the shadows. It was a villager, shabbily dressed and unkempt like the rest, and snarling as it tried to grab him by the throat.

Again caught by surprise, the Agent gasped while trying to avoid him by stepping backwards, only to have the back of his foot get caught on a large candelabra. Losing his balance completely, Leon fell onto the floor as the growling villager tackled him, and in the process the revolver had fallen from his grasp, bouncing across the floor, and stopping right in front of Ashley's feet. He expected her to pick up the weapon and help him, since it was taking all of the Agent's strength just to keep the deranged man from strangling him, but instead the young woman just stood there like a deer in the headlights.

"Ashley, the gun!" Leon yelled, continuing to struggle with the villager. "Ashley, get the gun!"

" _La nina pertenece al Senor Saddler_!" The deranged man spat, drooling on the Agent's cheek while baring his teeth like he was going bite him. " _Moriras por robar de la iglesia_!"

During this whole exchange, the President's daughter just stood there with eyes wide and her mouth hanging slightly open, clearly so petrified by what she was seeing that… God damn it, why couldn't _any_ woman that he met in the last six years be like Claire Redfield? If it was Claire with him on this mission, she would have picked up the revolver and saved his life, but no… no, this time Leon had to let go of his attacker with one hand, allowing himself to be choked for a minute while reaching for his knife.

Pulling out the blade, and jamming it in between two of his attacker's ribs, the villager gasped as his grip was broken, giving the Agent just enough room to bring his arm up under the deranged man… and plunge the long blade up into his jaw. Some blood sprayed onto him, and Leon used the handle to keep pressing the blade upward through the roof of the villager's mouth, not to kill him, but just to push his attacker backwards enough for the Agent to get out from underneath.

Now free to move, Leon ripped the knife back out, causing the villager to remain on his hands and knees, coughing and spitting out most of his own tongue while the Agent grabbed the fallen revolver. _Bang_! _Bang_! Rolling onto his back while aiming the weapon upward, since the villager was already getting to his feet, Leon pulled the trigger twice, hitting the deranged man in the face both times, and then making him scream when he tumbled backwards over the guard wall.

 _Crash_! One of the wooden pews below had broken while trying to break the villager's fall, and the deranged man himself wasn't moving. This was probably the only opportunity they would have to escape, so the Agent grabbed Ashley by the hand, seeming to snap her out of her paralysis as they started moving around the walkway toward the stone stairs. So far no one else had tried to attack them, but it was very likely that more villagers had heard those gunshots, so he reloaded the revolver while they crept down to the first floor.

There was still no one around, and the villager who had attacked them was lying on what remained of the blood soaked pew, so he wasn't a threat anymore, leaving the two of them a clear path to the front doors. Leon was just starting to lead the young woman toward them, when he stopped as that weird white symbol caught his eye, the one painted over the large stained glass relief that hung on the wall behind the alter. He had seen it before on the way in, obviously more concerned with finding out whether or not the target was inside the building, but now that he had her… maybe it would be useful to send Hunnigan a picture of it.

"Leon, what are you doing?" Ashley whispered urgently as she followed him over to it. "Leon, we need to _go_!"

"Oh, _now_ you wanna get things done." The Agent couldn't help but reply, his throat still hurting from being choked. "Headquarters needs to see this, and maybe if Hunnigan can find something on this symbol, then maybe we can start figuring out what the hell is going on with these people."

"I believe that _I_ can help you with that." A new voice said from behind. "It is the ancient symbol of the _Los Iluminados_ , er… _The Enlightened_ , in English."

Readying his revolver and spinning around toward the doors, the Agent saw… whoa, check out _this_ guy. He wore a blue and purple robe that was adorned with a golden version of the image on the wall, and his outfit came with a hood that made him look kind of like a wizard, well… that and the _really_ freaky looking staff that he carried. Still, as odd as this man looked with the hood obscuring part of his face, Leon felt as though he had seen this guy somewhere before… holy shit, it was the guy from that portrait he shot while fighting Chief Mendez.

"Allow me to introduce myself to you, Mr. Kennedy." The robed man continued, taking a step forward. "My name is Osmund Saddler, and I am the master of this fine, uh… _religious community_."


	24. Chapter 24 Osmund Saddler

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Twenty Four: Osmund Saddler**

For a little while Leon just stood there next to the alter, pointing his revolver and simply looking over the robed man while Ashley hid behind him. Saddler was appraising him as well, not moving or attacking like Chief Mendez and the villagers had done, while also appearing to have come alone… so… did that mean that he somehow believed the Agent wouldn't attack him? Or did he simply not regard Leon as a threat of any kind?

"I must admit, I was quite eager for this meeting." The robed man said, with Leon now noticing that his European accent didn't sound Spanish at all. "After Bitores told me about all the trouble you were causing for him down here, I just _had_ to meet the infamous _Leon Kennedy_ for myself… I was expecting someone taller, to tell you the truth."

"Great, glad to meet you." The Agent sharply replied, moving his revolver up so that it was pointing at Saddler's head. "You're under arrest for kidnapping the President's daughter, and for the murder of… I don't even _know_ how many people your _congregation_ has killed… so… drop the staff, get on your knees, and put your hands behind your head."

In response, Saddler raised an eye brown for a second, and then began to chuckle as if the idea of him surrendering to Leon was something too ridiculous to even consider. This chuckling turned into full blown laughter an instant later, with the robed man having to wipe a tear from his eye as he explained that the idea of a lone American rushing into town and saving the girl was something that only happened in his _Hollywood Movies_. He also added that, even though the United States was a bunch of _cowboys_ who thought they could police the world forever, he really did enjoy their movies… especially _Along Came Polly_ , which he had gotten to see in _Prague_ last spring.

"This isn't a movie, Saddler, this is _real_." Leon reminded him, pulling the hammer back on the weapon. "Now you can either surrender and tell all your followers to leave us alone… or I can put a _bullet_ between your eyes."

"You could, yes, but it would make no difference." The robed man answered, seemingly not worried at all about getting shot. "Did you really think that I would do something as bold as having your President's _precious_ little daughter kidnapped… if I didn't have _some_ kind of insurance that the plan would succeed?"

Chuckling again as he leaned on the staff, Saddler commented that this small, tucked away area of the world was the site on which an awesome power was locked away… a power which when embraced, could endow the faithful with abilities beyond that of normal men, once unimportant things such as free will were erased in lieu of the betterment of the community as a whole. Once this… _conversion_ into the ranks of the faithful followers of the Los Iluminados was complete, the people would lead happy, selfless lives, content to allow their righteous leaders, such as himself and Chief Mendez, make all their decisions for them.

"You will find as you are among us, Mr. Kennedy." Saddler continued. "That this _intoxicating_ power is quite irresistible… as the lovely Ms. Graham will be able to tell you in a matter of days. You see, we decided to share this _divine gift_ with her as well… oh, I tell you… I wish more than _anything_ that I could be there to see what happens when she is returned to her loving father… which I'm sure he will pay a rather large _donation_ for."

So, _that_ was their plan, the Agent realized as he turned his head for a second to look at the scared young woman behind him; kidnap Ashley and ransom her back after doing the same thing to her that had been done to the villagers, so that what? She would attack her own father the same way the villagers had done to outsiders? According to the robed man, once the conversion process was complete, the young woman would essentially be his puppet, and that she would literally do anything he told her, with mind and body completely under his control… which to Saddler was _an excellent way to propagate one's faith_.

"Sounds more like _Invasion of the Body Snatchers_ to me." Leon replied. "But what about all those dead villagers I found in the farmhouse? And what about all those kids down in the well? Sounds like your _fine religious community_ didn't do _them_ any favors."

"Yes, unfortunately not all who walk this world can be counted among the faithful." Saddler explained with a resigned sigh. "Try as they might, many of the village's inhabitants were just not compatible with the gift of Los Iluminados, and those whose bodies have not matured yet, well… let's just say that true faith requires an _adult_ persona, and although it saddened me… we just couldn't be a community of divided minds, now could we?"

"He killed the kids?!" Ashley exclaimed, her sudden words startling Leon. "He killed the kids because they didn't fit in?!"

He wanted to pull the trigger and end this sicko right there, since the Agent was willing to bet that, like with Umbrella, the people usually responsible for starting outbreaks weren't willing to infect themselves. Fine, maybe this wasn't a viral outbreak like with Raccoon City or the Starlight, but this guy seemed even more human and aware of his action that Chief Mendez… but if he did shoot him, then what would happen with the villagers? Without a leader, would they go on a rampage, eventually leaving the community and attacking others?

"You make me sick, Saddler." Leon spat, still holding the weapon aimed at him. "But your plan to infect Ashley isn't going to work, because we're not hanging around for _a few more days_. Now are you going to surrender? Or do you just want to die?"

"I'm afraid I will not be surrendering today, my friend." The robed man replied, taking a step off to the side. "However, I have no intention of stopping you myself, either… not yet. You have provided an amusing distraction from the mundane so far, and I wish to see what you are _really_ capable of… so off you go."

Wait a second, he was just… letting them go? Was this some kind of trick? No, there wouldn't be any point, since if the villagers knew where the Agent was, then they could have simply stormed the church and overwhelmed him. Was Saddler really so self-confident that he was willing to just let the two of them walk out of the church without lifting a finger to stop them? If so, then he couldn't afford to lose the chance, so Leon took Ashley's hand and slowly started walking toward the exit.

No ambushes so far, no torches flickering in through the windows, no traps… oh wow, he was _really_ just letting them go. Maybe so far no one had ever been able to get through what he called the _conversion process_ without being taken over, but unlike everyone else who had come to this place, the Agent had a little experience with outbreak situations. For one thing, there was _always_ a cure, since the people in charge wouldn't dare release a virus of any kind without having some way to protect themselves against it, and as soon as the young woman was cured, Leon was going to come back to this place with an Army to raise the whole village to the ground.

Still no obstructions in their path as they opened the door and stepped back into the pouring rain, the Agent looked around for hidden threats, but could barely see anything now that the sun had gone down completely. The small compact flashlight on his belt wasn't much, but it was better than nothing, so he was just starting to lead her around the side of the church toward the old presbytery, when he was startled by the sound of someone knocking on glass. It was Saddler, waving to get their attention, before sliding open on of the window panes.

"Oh, Mr. Kennedy, I believe I forgot to tell you the best news of all." The robed man said happily. "I actually feel kind of silly, you see… I was so excited about my plan coming together for Ashley, that I completely left out the part where we gave the same gift to _you_ while you were unconscious. Okay, that was all… good luck."

Closing the window and then vanishing as quickly as he appeared, Saddler was gone, leaving Leon with a knot forming in his stomach while he processed the robed man's words. Had these lunatics infected him with something after the first time Mendez captured him at the old farmhouse? Was that what they had done to Ashley? Damn it, it felt like for every question about this place that was answered, three more popped up in its place, but you know what? If something _had_ been done to them, then the best place to be was a laboratory back in the United States.

"Leon… what's gonna happen to us?" The young woman asked meekly, looking up toward the window where Saddler had been. "I'm scared."

"Everything's going to be okay, Ashley." The Agent replied, trying to reassure himself as much as her. "Saddler doesn't know it, but there's a helicopter coming to pick us up at the old presbytery behind the church… if he wants to watch me so badly, then he can _watch_ me give him the finger as we fly out of here."

The President's daughter actually managed to smile a little upon hearing this, and even more so when they started following the path that went around the church, using Leon's compact flashlight to show the way. The rain was falling harder now, so much that it was partially obscuring the light beam, thankfully not enough to stop them from using the path as it curved around another small rocky hill while going downward. Soon a small flickering light was noticed coming from… yes, coming from another large wooden building… they had reached the presbytery.

Clearly there was someone inside, since the flickering orange light was coming out from the windows of the large house, but right now the Agent didn't care; this overly large front yard of the former home of Chief Mendez, back when he was a Catholic Priest, was the designated landing zone, and soon… okay, great, the distant sound of approaching rotors was just starting to reach his ears. This sound got louder as the vehicle of their escape came into view, and the helicopter's large spotlight shined down onto them a second later, causing Ashley to squeal with delight as she hugged him.

 _Thunk… fwoosh_!

Barely audible against the falling rain, the Agent wasn't sure that he had heard anything at all until a burst of flame ignited in the air, leaving a trail of brightly illuminated white smoke as a small object flew toward the helicopter. He was only now just starting to grasp what the object was, but by then it was too late; the small rocket slammed into the bottom of the helicopter, pulverizing the rear section with a noise that sounded like thunder, with an explosive flash that lit up the terrain like the accompanying lightning.

Now on fire, and unable to control its flight pattern, the helicopter spun around as it flew off sideways, lighting up the area once again after it had crashed unseen, somewhere beyond the trees and hills. This whole exchange took less than ten seconds, but longer for Leon to realize that there wasn't going to be any extraction. His only hope of a quick escape had just gone up in flames, leaving him and Ashley trapped while the nearby villagers would have _definitely_ heard the commotion.


	25. Chapter 25 Presbytery Reunions

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Twenty Five: Presbytery Reunions**

Once the brief spectacle of light and noise was over, the darkened landscape returned to its previous silence, leaving Leon to stand there dumbfounded as he stared up to the point where the helicopter had been just before the explosion. Obviously Saddler's people had shot it down, but then again that was impossible… or at least it seemed that way. The almost primitive people of this village didn't have the technology of gunpowder, let alone firearms and rockets, or else they surely would have used them against him by now.

The most advanced tools and technology he had seen them use so far were Salvador's chainsaw and the motors on those fishing boats… well, they didn't have the boats anymore, but… how in the hell did someone with a shoulder-fired rocket shoot down that helicopter? Even the Agent himself had only known about the extraction point about fifteen minutes prior to the airship's arrival, and even if the villagers had somehow intercepted Hunnigan's broadcast, which was doubtful, what did they do, just have someone stand up there on that hill in case the helicopter flew in from this direction?

"Leon, please tell me that _wasn't_ our ride home." Ashley whimpered, interrupting his thoughts as she stepped closer. "There's still a way out of here… right?"

"Come on, we gotta get to cover." The Agent replied, realizing that whoever fired that rocket might not be alone. "I need to report this to headquarters… don't worry, they'll get us out."

The only good news in this situation as they slowly moved toward the old presbytery, was that President Graham wasn't going to simply abandon them as long as his daughter was there, but who was to say how long it was going to be before another extraction could be attempted? So far no one had come out to attack them, but that might have been because there were already villagers inside the large wooden house, so Leon gestured for the young woman to stay back for a second while he tried looking into the windows.

Water running down the outside of the glass was distorting what he could see, not to mention all of the dirt and dust on the inside, leaving the Agent unable to make a guess as to how many hostiles he was going to have to deal with upon entering. A secure spot was needed in order for him to make contact with Hunnigan, since he was basically defenseless while using the communicator, and… damn it, why couldn't he have been able to keep his trusty old 9mm?

While the .45 rounds for his revolver were more powerful, the capacity and reload time limitations made this old fashioned weapon a lot harder to use than more modern ones… but he supposed that was all a moot point now. His pistol had fallen into the river not fifteen minutes into the mission, so it was either this, or take on whoever was inside that house with his bare hands. _Creak_ , damn these rusted metal hinges, the Agent thought as he tried to quietly open the front door… well, everyone was about to know he was there anyway, so Leon loudly shouldered it open, turning and aiming his revolver at the first person he saw and…

"Leon?" A familiar voice asked. " _Santa mierda_ , Leon, is that you?"

Taking a second to wipe the water out of his eyes with his sleeve, the Agent had to blink a few times in order for his vision to come into focus, but then he sighed with relief when he saw that it was none other than Luis Sera who was standing there… still holding the pitch fork that the Merchant had given him back at the mine. In the dim light of the single oil lamp sitting on the center table, Leon could see that this place looked just like the farmhouse where he had first met the dark haired man; filthy, neglected, sparsely decorated with furniture made from the same dried wood.

"Ashley, come on in, it's safe." He said, remembering that she was still standing out in the rain. "This is Luis Sera, he's a friend… Luis, this is Ashley Graham."

" _Dios mio, tienes unos pechos increibles_." The dark haired man added, looking over her when she walked in. "Nice to meet you Ashley… you know, you've been the talk of the town for _days_ now, but don't worry… I'll keep you safe."

"My eyes are up _here_ , Luis." Ashley replied with an irritated tone. " _Y aprendi a hablar espanol en la universidad, asi que cuida tu boca_."

Luis looked like he was about to say something back to this, but instead just looked away, appearing to blush a little as if having been caught saying something inappropriate while thinking she didn't speak… yeah, looks like Leon really _was_ the only one around who didn't speak Spanish. Whatever he said must have been pretty offensive, since the young woman was now keeping her distance from him, choosing to almost hang on the Agent's arm while they discussed where the dark haired man had been this whole time.

"I thought you were right behind me, Leon, I swear." Luis explained, all of them sitting down at the table. "But then I looked back, and you were gone, so I hid behind the trees to sneak by the Chief's house, and then I figured that the last place they would look for me was right near the old church."

The Agent was going to ask him how he got across the lake without drawing the attention of that monster, but then figured he must have used the same path that the Merchant had mentioned after finding him unconscious. What _was_ important now was when Leon remembered the kind of seizure he had suffered after getting across the lake, which he had chalked down to fatigue, at least until Saddler's revelation that they had infected Leon with the same thing that had been done to the villagers.

"Luis, I need to know what happened to the people here." He said, changing the subject. "And I mean, _everything_ ; what they've been exposed too, how long it takes to _convert_ them, as Saddler says, and most importantly, if there's a way to stop it."

"Wait a minute, you met _Saddler_?" The dark haired man asked with genuine surprise. "How the hell are you still alive? Unless…

"He said we're both infected." Ashley blurted out as everything around them started to get easier to see. "He said we're gonna end up like the people here, and… what's… what's going on?"

Suddenly the three of them began to notice that there was more light coming in through the dirty windows, as if the sun was rising, but then again sunlight didn't flicker, nor was it orange and close to the ground. Creeping over to the nearest window, and wiping off the dirt with his hand, Leon gasped when he saw that the light was coming from torches… dozens of them, each being held by an angry looking villager. His first thought was for them to escape out the back, breaking another window to get away if needed, but then the Agent gasped again when he saw that there was torchlight coming in through _every_ window, all around the house.

"What's going on?" Ashley asked, shaking a little as she held onto his arm. "What's going to happen to us?"

Honestly, he wasn't sure, but there was an intense feeling of dread that came along with the realization that the villagers outside were completely surrounding the house… odd that they weren't attacking, though. Instead of rushing in to overpower them and take Ashley, the dozens of deranged people formed a circular human wall around the property, growling and snarling like animals who wanted to attack, but were forbade to by their master. Wait a second… as Leon squinted to see through the dirty window, he saw that one of the people, a woman, had taken several steps forward.

" _No hay escapatoria_!" She snarled, yelling to be heard over the rain. " _Queremos a Leon Kennedy! Envialo fuere! Leon Kennedy_!"

"Bad news, Leon." Luis said as the demands were called out again, this time even more aggressively. "Your _friend_ out there says they want you to come out alone for some reason… can't be a good one, though."

"Me? Alone? Why?" The Agent asked, taking another look through the window. "What do they want?"

 _Crash_! Suddenly one of the windows shattered inward as a large rock was tossed through, bouncing off the floor with a loud whump, and allowing the interior of the room to be sprayed with the wind and water of the ongoing rainstorm. Again, the demands of the woman outside were repeated, this time with more words, and a lot more growling from the others, suggesting that they were becoming impatient. Well, it wasn't like the Agent could do what they wanted, without Luis or Ashley to translate, and… hey, where did they go?

"They said they've been ordered to challenge you!" The young woman cried out, covering underneath the table with Luis. "She's saying that if win they'll leave us alone, but if you lose or refuse to come out, they'll come in here and kill us all!"

"You got this, Leon!" Luis yelled when another window was broken with a rock. "Go show them how tough you are!"

The Agent was about to ask him if he was serious right now, but then again, if the dark haired man remained inside the house with Ashley, and things went bad, then maybe she could get away while they were tearing him to pieces. _Crash_! Another broken window and even more yelling from outside, it seemed that Leon didn't have any choice but to go out there and meet their _challenge_ , whatever that was. Hoping that they would understand, even though none of them but the leaders seemed to speak English, the Agent called that he was coming out, causing them all to fall silent when he opened the door.

Wow, there were _a lot_ of villagers outside, forming a perfect circle of bodies and torches, but again making no move to attack him. Repeating the same words as before, and then standing there as if waiting for a reply, Leon nodded in acceptance to whatever they had planned, preparing himself for a fight… but then feeling some of the color drain from his face upon hearing the familiar _putt-putt-putt-putt_ of an approaching small engine. Then the woman stepped out of the way, allowing his opponent to enter… his opponent who wore a burlap bag over his head, and carried a large chainsaw.

" _Salvador matalos_!" The villagers began to chant as they closed the wall. " _Salvador matalos! Salvador matalos! Salvador matalos!_ "


	26. Chapter 26 Salvador Matalos

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Twenty Six: Salvador Matalos**

 _Salvador matalos_! _Salvador matalos_! _Salvador matalos_! _Salvador matalos_!

The rain was coming down even harder now, causing some of the villagers' torches to flicker a bit, making this whole situation even more unnerving as the deranged people continued to chant. Saddler must not have been kidding when he said he wanted to observe Leon in action for a while, and of course this meant that he was going to have to have a rematch with the most frightening man in the village, next to the Chief. _Putt-putt-putt-putt_ , Salvador's chainsaw was idling, letting out little puffs of whitened smoke as he slowly entered this impromptu arena, with the others closing the gap in the human wall once he was through.

Leon's first instinct was to fall back until he could find a better position and turn things to his advantage, but he had a feeling that if he tried to retreat at all beyond the established boundary, Luis and Ashley would be in danger. Experiencing a brief flash of memory regarding his last encounter with this bag-faced abomination, the Agent knew that he was going to have to be very careful if he was going to get out of this alive… but the most significant difference between then and now was that he was armed.

 _Bang_! _Bang_! Drawing his revolver and firing just as his opponent started to rev up the chainsaw, Leon fired twice, further illuminating the arena as his first bullet hit Salvador in the arm, while the burlap bag fluttered a bit when the second one hit him in the face. For a second the chainsaw stopped revving as these two hits staggered the bag-faced man, but he quickly regained his footing, resuming the slow march toward Leon as if the bullets hadn't damaged him at all. With four bullets left in the cylinder, the Agent was trying to form a plan, but then there was no more time as the chainsaw revved up as Salvador ran toward him.

Ducking down to avoid a swing of the weapon that wound surely have taken his head off, Leon had to quickly jump backwards a second later to avoid another swing at his stomach, only to briefly lose his footing when his foot slipped in the mud. Thankfully, the Agent didn't fall down, simply stumbling backwards until coming to a stop with his back against the wall of the house… and _then_ falling down sideways to avoid being ran through. Salvador had stabbed right at his chest with the chainsaw, but instead causing sawdust to go everywhere when the expertly sharpened blade tore into the dried wood like it was paper.

 _Bang_! Deciding to use another bullet as he scooted away, Leon's aim was extremely low, since he was trying to get up at the same time, causing the bag-faced man to have to lean on the wall for a second himself, when the bullet caught him in the leg just above the knee. Shooting him like this just wasn't working, the Agent realized as they both got to their feet, and now he only had three bullets left in the revolver, with no way that there would be enough time to reload once he ran out. Salvador, on the other hand, probably had a full tank of gas for his chainsaw, which he now pulled out of the wall.

 _Salvador matalos_! _Salvador matalos_! _Salvador matalos_! _Salvador matalos_!

Backing away as the bag-faced man marched toward him, Leon wished that the lunatics around them would just shut the hell up so he could think for a second, not that there were a lot of options for him as he reached the next corner of the house. More sawdust was sprayed out when the chainsaw tore into the corner of the wall, with the Agent feeling the wind from the blade passing his face by mere inches, and it was then that he decided to just throw everything he had at his opponent.

 _Bang_! _Bang_! _Bang_! Expending the last three bullets in the cylinder, Leon scored another hit to Salvador's face, as well as one to the chest, and then some sparks flew as the last one hit the chainsaw itself, all just as he was pulling it from the wall. This time not waiting for the bag-faced man to recover, he flipped the empty weapon around in his hand while taking out his knife with the other, and then the Agent went on the offensive. Slicing the blade across his opponent's hand, Leon did an overhand swing so that the grip of the revolver was brought down on top of Salvador's head, driving him backwards while the villagers just got more excited.

Making sure to always use the blade on the bag-faced man's arms in order to stop him from using the chainsaw, Leon struck Salvador across the head with his revolver again and again, each hit driving his opponent back a little more… at least until the chainsaw was suddenly brought upward, revving up to maximum as the blade came right at the Agent's hands. _Clang_! Instead of hitting his flesh, the spinning blade struck the metal surfaces of both the Agent's weapons, sending out sparks as they flew from his grip, and leaving him unarmed as Salvador raised his weapon up high for the kill.

With no other options other than to keep fighting, Leon reached up and grabbed the casing of the chainsaw, beginning a power struggle against an opponent who he already knew was far stronger than he was. Circling around each other while battling for control of the spinning blade, the Agent brought his knee up into the bag-faced man's stomach, before trying to twist the chainsaw out of his grasp… only to have Salvador let go of it with one hand in order to slug Leon in the mouth.

Finding himself reeling backwards from the blow while his opponent regained control of the weapon, the Agent was forced to drop down into the mud once again to avoid having himself cleaved in half. Having to scoot along the ground backwards like a crab to avoid the next attack, which caused a bunch of mud to be kicked up in his face when the spinning blade hit the ground between his legs, Leon rolled around the next corner of the house, only to find that his path was blocked after hitting his head against a large stack of chopped wood.

Crying out from a sudden stinging pain as the chainsaw grazed his shoulder, the Agent did a kind of sideways roll away from the wood, only to suddenly have to scoot back against it after feeling the blade give him a small cut across the back of his leg. Leon knew that he was in trouble at this point, fatigued from everything that had happened to him throughout the day, and now really feeling the burn of his small wounds, he was only just barely able to avoid the overhand swing that was now tearing through the wood pile… before desperately grabbing a piece of wood and swinging it as hard as he could.

 _Whack_! Catching Salvador in the shoulder, the bag-faced man fell sideways onto the log pile, but he managed to keep one hand on the chainsaw… which might have been able to pull the no longer spinning blade out of the log it was stuck in, if the Agent hadn't immediately swung the log again. _Crack_! This time bringing the piece of wood down onto his opponent's arm, Leon could hear bones snapping as Salvador was forced to let go of his weapon completely, but the Agent wasn't about to give him the chance to do, well… anything.

 _Whack_! _Whack!_ _Whack_! Now standing over the bag-faced man, and pummeling him with overhand swings, each hit to the back and head brought Salvador further down until his opponent was slumped over the wood pile. Nearly exhausted to the point of falling over, Leon knew that he had to end this right now, so he brought the log up as high over his head as he could reach, before bringing it down and completely shattering Salvador's skull.

With a wet _crunch_ , everything inside the burlap bag was flattened as if it had been a basket of dropped eggs, but then something almost unbelievable happened. As soon as the bag fell off, spilling its fowl smelling and discolored contents out onto the ground, something sprang outward from the top of Salvador's neck, at first appearing to be a replacement head, but… appearing as a grotesque and twitching mass of purple and yellow flesh with flailing tentacles, and… _oh, shit_!

Suddenly one of the tentacles elongated, lashing outward toward him like a whip, but with a serrated tip that was so sharp, it neatly sliced the bark off the log. If Leon hadn't been holding the piece of wood like that, his head probably would have been sliced clean off, but instead he just stumbled backwards while Salvador's body slowly stood up. Abandoning the chainsaw completely, his opponent's body now moved more like a the zombies of Raccoon City, doing a sort of shamble as it moved right toward the Agent with its cutting tentacle twitching violently.

 _Salvador matalos_! _Salvador matalos_! _Salvador matalos_! _Salvador matalos_!

The villagers didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary as this thing, looking like some kind of space alien that had taken over the body of their friend, but… so did this _monstrosity_ have something to do with the _conversion_ process that Saddler mentioned? Was this thing sticking out of Salvador's neck part of how the Los Illuminados asserted control over the people? And, oh God… was that what they had put into him and Ashley?

Every time the monster got close enough, the cutting tentacle would lash out, forcing the Agent to continually back up around the house. He tried throwing logs at it, but the cutting tentacle was so sharp and fast that it simply sliced them in half in mid-air. This incredibly slow pursuit took them all the way around the front of the house, and back to where they started, with the only progress to their fight being made being a few more small cuts to Leon's arms… until he saw that the idling chainsaw was still stuck in the wood pile where it had been abandoned.

Rushing away from the abomination, and grabbing onto the saw, the Agent had to rev it up to full speed in order to free it from the log. Even faced with this weapon, the monster didn't seem to take notice as it closed in, at least not until Leon made a wild swing the chainsaw, causing the abomination to shriek when its cutting tentacle was completely severed. The saw had bogged down for a second as if it were cutting through rubber when it hit the deformed flesh, but Leon wasn't quite in so much shock that he was going to give it a chance to recover, especially since the chainsaw had caused it so much damage.

So he ran right toward his opponent's body, bringing up the weapon, and plunging the spinning blade right down into the growth so that the saw was actually digging down Salvador's throat into his torso. The motor bogged down heavily as if it were a lot harder to cut through the monster within than when the Agent had seen it used to cut the Officer's bodies in half in the middle of town, but he kept it going until the blade tore right through his opponent's back, and the abomination burst apart after one final shriek.

Finally, the villagers stopped chanting when Salvador's body fell to the ground, and Leon held out the idling chainsaw threateningly, until it sputtered to a stop a second later. Frantically, he pulled the starter, but the engine just sputtered a couple times, until the Agent realized what was wrong with it. Back when he had been shooting at the bag-faced man, the bullet that hit the chainsaw had apparently ruptured the fuel tank, giving the small motor a slow leak, which left Leon just standing there with a useless chainsaw, while surrounded by hostile villagers.

" _Vamos_." The same woman from before said, starting to walk away. " _No te preocupes, el conseguira lo que viene a el_."

He expected to be attacked right then and there, but instead the villagers just started throwing down their torches, growling to themselves as they walked away, leaving Leon just standing there in the middle of the yard, trying to catch his breath as the rain started putting out the small fires.


	27. Chapter 27 The Barn

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Twenty Seven: The Barn**

Leon hadn't believed for a second that the rest of the villagers would simply leave if he managed to defeat Salvador, but it had been the surprise of his life when they did just that; throwing down their torches and walking away as their champion lie dead in the mud. Oh well, even if they really were going to let him and the others go unobstructed, the Agent doubted that it would last forever, and thankfully he was able to find his fallen weapons before the torches were put out by the rain.

Once again relying on his compact flashlight, he sheathed his knife and made sure the barrel of his revolver was free of mud before reloading it, closing the cylinder while walking back toward the front door of the presbytery. Leon couldn't wait to tell Ashley and Luis the good news, and also to get out of the rain so that he could rest for a few minutes… but when he walked back into the large house's living room, he found that something was wrong.

"Ashley?" He called, looking around the first floor. "Luis?"

The table they had been hiding under was knocked over, as was the now extinguished oil lamp, leaving the Agent to search the first and second floors by his flashlight alone. Moving room by room through the long abandoned house, Leon was happy that there were no villagers lying in wait for him to come around some corner, but at the same time he was distressed because there was no sign of his companions, either. Upon circling back around to the living room, and still finding no sign, the Agent suddenly found his legs giving out as he slowly sunk to the floor against the wall.

"Hunnigan." He groaned, taking out the small communicator and activating it. "Hunnigan, can you hear me?"

As always, his operator responded almost immediately, albeit genuinely surprised and concerned by his physical condition... of course, this concern was forgotten when Leon was forced to report that he had briefly _misplaced_ the target. This forced her to remind him that there would be no more support or extractions arranged, by order of the President, until Ashley was safe. Honestly, he was getting pretty sick of old Graham's policy of _don't do anything to help_ , and the recent chainsaw cuts the Agent had received were making it very hard to keep his mouth shut about it.

"They must have… they must have run for it while I was fighting Salvador." Leon groaned, holding his hand over the still bleeding shoulder wound. "Can your satellite… can it pick up any heat signatures nearby… I'm still at the presbytery."

" _Hold on a second, let me update the feed_." Hunnigan replied, looking down to tap on her keyboard. " _Okay, I have something… looks like a really large group moving away from you, going north, and… yeah, I can see a much small group located inside of a smaller building to the south of you… Leon, are you okay_?"

Shortest answer he could give was _no_ , but there wasn't any time to rest, since getting Ashley back was literally the only way the Agent was _ever_ going to get out of there alive. He just needed a minute to catch his breath, and maybe something to distract him from all the pain in his body, so Leon asked her to just talk to him for a while. After dealing with these possessed lunatics, the lake monster, a giant, and Salvador, he just needed his mind to be on something else for a little bit, kind of like a psychological refresh for his mind… and it didn't hurt that Hunnigan was a beautiful woman with a soothing voice.

" _So, then I got this brilliant idea to try out for cheerleading when I was sixteen_." She said once the topic of high school came up. " _My very first try doing a cartwheel resulted with a broken collarbone, and then back to the library I went_."

"At least you graduated; I _dropped out_ at sixteen." Leon replied, feeling a little better. "Got my GED, and then a few years later I decided to join the Police Academy… yeah, not as fun as _Steve Guttenberg_ made it look in that movie."

Both of them laughed at this for a second, and now the Agent found his thoughts drifting back to when he volunteered to be one of the emergency replacements for the Raccoon City Police Department just before graduation. The day life stopped being normal as he drove his Jeep past the city limits… he had really liked that Jeep, too, but was forced to abandon it in the street when the dead started walking. Yeah, after that nothing about his life had been normal… there _was_ a silver lining, though… without the T-Virus outbreak, the Agent would have just been another Rookie reporting into a normal police department… and he might've ended up working for Tobias Liquid.

"Thanks for talking to me, Hunnigan, it really helped." Leon said, actually managing a weak smile. "How about when this is all over, I take you out to dinner or something?"

" _I'm glad I could help, Leon_." She answered, smiling a little herself. " _But I'm afraid it's time to get back to work, Agent Kennedy. Now go get Ashley, so we can pull you out of there_."

Well, she didn't say _no_ , the Agent thought, giving her a mock salute before shutting off the communicator. Hunnigan was right, though… had to keep focused on the mission… at least his shoulder wound had mostly stopped bleeding. Pulling himself to his feet, and then looking out the window to make sure there weren't any more villagers approaching, Leon pushed open the front door, heading back out into the pouring rain. This might not have been so bad if the temperature didn't keep dropping, allowing him to see his breath against the beam of the flashlight.

The cold made him shiver a bit, but it also dulled the lingering pain from his wounds, making it a little easier for him to move around. Still no villagers around to disturb him, so the Agent found the trail that went south, and started walking away from the presbytery, finding nothing but more rocks and dead trees. Shadows were being cast by the flashlight, and unlike the torches, it only gave a limited field of vision… which was enough to see where the trail ended at a fifteen foot high stone wall.

A large metal gate was positioned so that the trail ran into it, but the heavy doors didn't move an inch when he tried them. Locked… of course, why wouldn't it be? No keyhole, though, just an odd, rounded impression where it looked like some kind of small object could be set… either that, or something there had been broken off. The latter was more likely, since the wall looked ancient, with large patches of brown moss covering large sections of stone, but… but where were Luis and Ashley?

Stepping backwards and looking up over the top of the wall, Leon could see what looked like some kind of large structure off in the distance, seen only by the light that was coming out the windows… was that where they went? No, couldn't be, since Hunnigan had specifically said that their heat signatures were located inside of a small… but there was nothing around here except… what was that?

While turning around to get a better look at his surroundings, the very edge of the Agent's flashlight beam fell upon something that he could just barely see. Damn this rain, he thought as he left the train, now moving across brown, wet grass toward the object… which turned out to be another building. It wasn't small, or… maybe it was when compared to the presbytery; a large, wooden barn that slightly creaked as the wind picked up. It was also the only building in sight, so he kept walking toward it, deciding to circle around in order to get a good look at what was inside before going in.

Turning off his flashlight so not to be seen when he approached a side window, Leon peered in through the small opening, but couldn't see anything but darkness and a few shadows. Same thing happened when he tried looking in through the others, and soon he was back at the front door where he started, with no choice but to enter. Waiting until the next time the whole building creaked because of the wind, he pulled open one of the wooden doors just enough to slip inside, and then turning the flashlight on again once his revolver was raised.

"Luis?" He called, sweeping the light beam around. "Ashley?"

This place must have been a large horse stable at some point, since the majority of both sides of the long, rectangular building had been sectioned off into stalls via the construction of wooden barriers that were now rotting away. Old, rotted hay covered the dirt floor, and there were… there were actually a lot of metal chains anchored to the support pillars across the whole area. Starting where they were anchored, Leon followed them upward with the flashlight, discovering that they were used as part of dozens of pulley systems, some chains holding up nothing, while others held up really heavy pieces of metal… and a few held up some people… who appeared to have died quite some time ago.

What the hell was this place? The Agent wondered as he looked up at all the chains and pulleys, another execution ground for _those who were rejected_? Was there no end to the sickness and cruelty of the people here? Suddenly one of the suspended bodies moved, making Leon jump as it started yelling, but her words were all muffled as if someone shoved a gag in her mouth. Wait a second, squinting his eyes and aiming the flashlight, he saw that this was no dead villager… it was Ashley, suspended high up in the air with a chain wrapped around her waist so that her arms were pinned to her sides, and… and he stopped for a second when he realized that he was looking right up her skirt.

Another body started yelling into a gag, this one sounding more urgent, and definitely a man, so the Agent turned the flashlight, and saw that Luis was suspended the same way a short distance from her. The dark haired man kept yelling into the gag and tilting his head further into the barn as if trying to warn him about something… and then a torch lit up, revealing that the three of them were not alone in this barn.

"I suppose that it is true what they say, Senor Kennedy." Chief Mendez said, setting his torch into the mount so that the whole barn was bathed in a very dim orange light. "If ever you wish for something to be done correctly… you should simply do it yourself."


	28. Chapter 28 It's in the Eyes

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Twenty Eight: It's in the Eyes**

Oh crap, was the first thing Leon thought when he saw the big man standing there in the dim, flickering torchlight. In addition to his already imposing, seven foot tall frame, the Chief's eyes glowed red in the darkness like all the other villagers… no, wait, for some reason only _one_ of his eyes was glowing, but this detail was quickly forgotten when the big man started cracking his knuckles.

"You have been causing a lot of trouble this evening." Mendez continued, looking into the fire for a second before turning back to the Agent. "Senor Saddler wants to observe you, but he has not seen the destruction you have been causing down in the village… destruction that is going to stop _right now_."

Leon didn't like the way this conversation was going, especially when the Chief grew angry while stating that he didn't understand how the Agent had been able to escape from _Del Lago_ or kill _El Gigante_ , but that he had witnessed the defeat of Salvador with his own eyes. Leon knew that he was no match for Mendez, and that bullets affected him even less than they did to the bag-faced man, but it wasn't like the Agent could just run away while Ashley and Luis were hanging from the ceiling.

"Mendez, why are you doing this?" He asked, starting to circle around after the Chief took a step forward. "You were… you were a _Priest_ , for God's sake… how could you let your congregation become… _this_?"

"A Priest… an empty faith toward an absent God." The big man explained, now circling around in the open area across from him. "In my years of devotion to the Catholic faith, I have never seen anything to prove the existence of God or angels, but when Senor Saddler revealed _Las Plagas_ to me and Ramon, I saw a _true miracle_ for the first time, and I knew… I _knew_ that the true faith was held to Los Illumanados."

Something was wrong here, Leon couldn't help but notice, or at least different… all of the other villagers, even Salvador, behaved like animals who followed instinct or commands from their hierarchy, but that didn't seem to be the case here. All of the others seemed like puppets for Saddler's will, but not only had the Village Chief disagreed with what he wanted, he was appearing to straight up defy him by moving on the Agent instead of observing… so… did that mean that not everyone who was infected or whatever by this place was the same?

"I am giving you one last chance to become part of the community." Mendez said, now standing still. "Put down your weapons and simply wait here until your conversion to the true faith is complete… or I am going to wrap a chain around your neck and then hang you until you die… choose _now_."

 _Bang_! _Bang_! _Bang_! Becoming a deranged freak like these people was not an option, so Leon answered by pulling the trigger, illuminating the surrounding area with a kind of strobe light effect as he quickly empties the contents of his revolver's cylinder right into the big man's face. Mendez twitched a little as tiny holes were punched into his skin, but other than that there was no visual effect, as if the bullets were like getting sprayed with gravel from a passing car… and then the Chief came forward.

No time to reload, so the Agent prepared to use it like a club, taking out his blade with his free hand, but Mendez grabbed his wrists before Leon could actually do anything, and then shook him around so violently that both weapons fell from his hands. Leon tried kicking him in the side of the leg to stagger him, but it didn't work, although the Chief _did_ let go of him with one hand… so that he could backhand him across the face hard enough to make the Agent see white for a second.

Now pulling him across the room, Leon punched the big man in the face as soon as he could see again, but this did nothing to hurt Mendez… nor did it stop him from fulfilling his promise of wrapping a chain around his neck. He tried to get away or fight back as the cold metal links were wrapped around his throat, pulling so tight when the big man removed it from its anchor that the Agent could no longer breathe when he was lifted off his feet. As he was pulled upward toward the ceiling, one of the heavy metal objects came down, acting as a counterweight that kept him suspended as he kicked around, gasping for breath.

"It is unfortunate that you chose death over joining our community." Mendez commented as Leon pulled frantically at the chain. "But I suppose that this was always going to be the outcome; Luis will return to work in the laboratory, Ashley will fulfill Senor Saddler's plan, and you… you, Senor Kennedy will hang here as a warning for all who…

 _BANG_! Suddenly the barn was filled with light and noise as something tore right through the chain, severing it completely, and interrupting the big man's words when the Agent's feet slammed right into his face. This actually managed to stun the Chief for a second, making him take a step back while Leon came crashing to the ground, and then there was a clicking sound before the barn was filled with that same noise as something powerful struck Mendez in the shoulder hard enough to drive him backwards.

 _Click-clack_ , _BANG_! The Agent had been so focused on taking in that first, gasping breath once the chain was removed, that it took him a second to realize he was hearing gunfire. Gunfire from a powerful bolt-action rifle at close range, a weapon that was held by the Merchant as each shot drove Mendez back a little more. _Click-clack_ , _BANG_! _Click-clack_ , _BANG_! A hit to the stomach, a hit to the face, a hit to the shoulder, the hooded man just kept firing and firing, at least until the weapon clicked empty… and unfortunately, the Chief was still standing.

"Crap." The Merchant said quietly as Mendez regained his balance.

Dropping his large backpack and then pulling another load of bullets from one of his pockets, the hooded man attempted to reload his rifle, but the Village Chief moved too fast, making the whole barn shake a little as he sprinted toward this new target. Grabbing the Merchant by the throat with both hands, and lifting him into the air as he kept running, the rifle and bullets fell to the ground while the hooded man was slammed into the wall, his feet not touching the ground while Mendez squeezed… and squeezed… and squeezed.

Still coughing and gasping for breath, Leon pulled himself up to a kneeling position so that he could grab the rifle and ammo, fumbling to reload the weapon. As soon as he managed to shove the speed loader all the way down into the chamber, the Agent pulled back the bolt, taking aim while locking it forward… only to freeze in place at what he saw. Just when the hooded man seemed totally helpless, he grabbed onto Mendez's wrists… and was actually able to break the big man's grip after the Merchant blinked his eyes… causing them to start glowing, not red… but _yellow_.

Leon found himself remaining where he was, staring stupidly at those horrible yellow eyes, and momentarily forgetting everything else going on as he watched the hooded man not only slowly managed to break Mendez's grip so that his feet were touching the ground again, but then he punched the Village Chief in the stomach so hard that he bent forward a bit. Immediately following this with an upward punch to the jaw that made Mendez stand up straight again as he stumbled back, the Merchant now grabbed him around the waist, lifting the big man about an inch off the ground as he ran forward, and then tackling him so that they both broke through one of the rotting stall walls as they fell to the ground.

Able to move again once the two of them were out of sight, the Agent got to his feet, trying to fight off the memories that were now assaulting his mind; memories of fighting for his life onboard the Starlight, looking into glowing yellow eyes as his friends were infected, and then he was nearly drowned in the swimming pool. No, it wasn't possible… Barry Burton killed that yellow eyed son of a bitch, and then he sank to the bottom of the ocean along with that whole ship.

 _Crash_! Knocking open the stall door as he stumbled back through it, Mendez back up into the next wall as the Merchant pursued him, throwing a punch but missing when the hooded man ducked down, coming back up with another punch of his own that turned the Chief's head. The Merchant clearly knew what he was doing; fists up, elbows tucked in, slightly hunched forward with feet constantly moving… the last man that the Agent had seen with glowing yellow eyes had been a boxer, too… no… no, please, _no_.

Suddenly the hooded man's punches lost their power, having significantly less effect on the Village Chief as his eyes began to flicker like lightbulbs that were slowly shorting out. Seizing the opportunity, Mendez threw another punch that probably would have taken his head off, if the Merchant hadn't already been backing away. Still caught him just a little, though, knocking the hooded man off his feet so that his back hit the ground, and the big man was moving to finish him off, when the hooded man kicked one of the chains next to him so that it fell off its anchor.

 _CRASH_! Without the anchor holding it, the heavy metal object at the other end of the chain came falling down, landing on top of Mendez so that the lower half of his body was pinned face down on the dirt floor, with one of his arms behind his back. The Village Chief groaned weakly, struggling to free himself, but unable to move more than a couple inches. The Merchant, on the other hand, was free to get up to his knees, turning around to look for his rifle, but then gasping when he found himself looking right down the barrel.

"Show me your face!" Leon ordered, keeping his finger tight on the trigger. "Show me your face right God damn now!"

"Oh, _now_ you wanna be tough." The hooded man replied, his accent gone while trying to catch his breath. "Big man now that… now that the danger's over."

The last bit of yellow color faded from his eyes as he spoke these words, and the Agent was so intent on dealing with this new development, that he almost didn't notice what was happening underneath that heavy metal object a short distance away. Suddenly the Chief's groans were replaced by a wet, gurgling sound as his body started to twist and jerk, snapping bones and spilling out a large puddle of fowl smelling, discolored blood all over the ground as he began to elongate into something that looked like a… centipede?

With the head and torso of a man, there was now a long, segmented insectoid body between that and the still human legs, each one possessing long, knife-like legs that allowed the abomination to easily free itself from underneath the heavy object. Now what had once been the Village Chief was standing up, towering above both of them as it roared in anger.


	29. Chapter 29 A Tree doth Fall

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Twenty Nine: A Tree doth Fall**

A few hours ago that lake monster had been the strangest thing that Leon had ever seen… then it was that pulsing, fleshy growth that broke out of Salvador's head… and now there was Chief Mendez, or at least… at least what was _left_ of him. This abomination that was now starting to stagger toward them was no longer speaking or moving like a man, instead it was growling and drooling, seeming to now be operating only on a primitive instinct just like what had happened after its emergence from the bag-faced man at the presbytery.

"Well, don't just stand there like a _Rookie_!" The Merchant yelled, making no attempts to hide his real, _American_ sounding accent while pulling out two revolvers. "Shoot the fucking thing!"

 _Bang_! _Bang_! _BANG_! Raising the rifle and pulling the trigger, the barn erupted with more light and noise than it had probably seen in years, sounding like a _4_ _th_ _of July_ fireworks display as the bullets started flying. Working the bolt of this old fashioned rifle before each shot was almost as awkward as trying to reload that damn revolver, forcing the Agent to shoot a lot slower than he wanted, but thankfully the weapon's large caliber bullets seemed to be having an effect on the monster.

Aiming up high at the Chief's still mostly human looking torso, each impact made the abomination twitch and groan, sometimes even staggering a bit to the point of having to lean on one of the barn's supports. While Leon was attacking the head, the hooded man was firing both revolvers into its legs, each hit striking the monster in the kneecaps, slowing down its movements further, but not enough to keep the Chief from closing in to where it was close enough to attack.

Each of them dove out of the way in separate directions, with the Agent just managing to miss getting grabbed by one of the monster's human arms as he rolled across the straw covered ground. He had hoped that the Chief would go after the Merchant, but no, the abomination just kept slowly stomping after him, which was bad because he had already used up all the bullets inside the rifle. _Whack_! Getting to his feet and swinging the stock upward like a club, some more of that discolored blood came out when it slammed into the Chief's nose hard enough to break it, but the monster didn't seem to notice as it finally managed to grab him by the wrist.

Yanking him upward so hard that it hurt, Leon cried out when his feet left the ground, and then the abomination grabbed onto his other wrist when he tried to free himself. Forcing his arms apart, and then turning its knife-like, centipede legs so that they were pointed toward him, the only thing the Agent could do was brace his feet against the segmented, insect body in an effort to keep himself from getting impaled. As hard as it was to believe, the Chief seemed to be even _stronger_ now than he had been before, meaning that Leon's legs were quickly giving out as it moved the pointed legs closer, and closer…

Suddenly the Chief roared in what sounded like pain, dropping the Agent as the prongs of a pitchfork were stabbed through the back of its segmented body so hard that the points on the end were sticking out of its front. Once Leon hit the ground, and was able to sit up, he saw that the Merchant was behind the monster, struggling to keep control over its movements by holding onto the pitchfork as it turned and whipped its body around. The enhanced strength that the hooded man displayed earlier seemed to be gone, making his current task difficult as he was lifted off his feet a couple times… before resorting to wrapping his legs around one of the barn's supports.

There was no way the Merchant was going to be able to restrain the Chief for long, and with the rifle empty and the revolver lying across the barn, Leon's only choice was to find something else he could use against it. The good news was that this was a barn, so there were plenty of old farm tools hanging on the walls that were available, but he didn't exactly like the idea of having to get close enough to the monster in order to use it. The nearest tool to him was a curved sickle, so he pulled it off the wall and let out a battle cry as he ran toward the monster.

Swinging his arm and stabbing the curved tool in between two of its body segments as hard as he could, causing more of that awful smelling substance to leak from the wound as he ripped the blade back out, striking the Chief again and again while trying not to get stabbed by the sharp legs. Like a lumberjack chopping down a tree with an axe, the Agent kept tearing the sickle into that same spot, hacking and slashing with a burst of energy that was probably brought on by the desperation to not be killed, Leon just kept tearing into the abomination's body until it actually started to break apart.

 _Crack-pop-crack_ , like a tree that could no longer stand, the Chief's insectoid body was splitting open so that the top half of him slowly fell backwards. It tried to grab onto one of the support poles, but missed, and now it was the Merchant's turn to dive out of the way to avoid being landed on when the abomination finally hit the ground. Its lower half continued to shamble around for a couple steps before finally falling down after its feet tripped over that same support beam, but the top half was still alive.

Roaring with renewed rage as it rolled over onto what remained of its human stomach, it propped itself up on its hands as if they were feet, curling up its segmented body like a scorpion's tail with all of the pointed legs aiming right at the Agent as it started moving forward… only to find itself pinned down to the floor when the Merchant stabbed the pitchfork down through its back. With only a short segmented section, the Chief wasn't able to reach the hooded man with its pointed legs, so there he remained while Leon picked up the rifle.

 _BANG_! _Click-clack_ , _BANG_! With another speed loader from the Merchant's pocket, the Agent reloaded the weapon and began firing it into the abomination's head, blasting it apart piece by piece until one of the Chief's eyes fell out of its socket… just before the monster collapsed after letting out one last, pained roar. The smell was horrific as the body seemed to flush out everything that was left inside, creating a noxious puddle of filth that both of them had to step back from.

"Come on." Leon said, catching his breath as he turned around. "We gotta get them down before anyone else shows up."

As much as he wanted to take a rest now that Mendez had been taken care of, the Agent knew that it was only a matter of time before more villagers showed up, especially with all of the noise they had just caused. There really wasn't a way to lower them down gently, so Leon positioned himself underneath Ashley before kicking the chain from its anchor, and then catching her in his arms when she fell. It was a good thing she was so light, since he was exhausted from… well, _everything_.

It took the efforts of both of them to catch Luis when he was lowered, but then as soon as the two former prisoners were unchained with the gags out of their mouths, the young woman turned and slapped the dark haired man across the face. Before Leon could ask what that was about, Ashley started to describe how some of the villagers had rushed into the presbytery as soon as he and Salvador were around the back, and that Luis… Luis had pushed her right into them so that he could get away… not that it did him much good.

"Luis, is this… is this _true_?" The Agent asked after Ashley gave him a good kick in the shin. "Did you _really_ give Ashley to the villagers, what kind of man does that?"

"And you!" The young woman exclaimed, startling Leon when she suddenly turned toward him. "Don't think for a second that I didn't see you down here when you came in… so what _exactly_ were you looking at, you _pervert_?!"

Well, this was a fine _thank you_ for saving their lives, the Agent thought as he tried to come up with something to say to defend himself against Ashley's accusations. Unfortunately, he really _had_ been looking up her skirt, but then all of this was forgotten when he looked away in shame, only to discover that the Merchant was gone. Another speed loader had been left for the rifle, but as for the hooded man, himself, he was just gone.

"God damn it, where did he go?!" Leon exclaimed, startling both of them with his sudden flash of anger as he ran to the door to look outside. "God damn it! Did either of you see where that guy went?!"

"Forget that guy, get the key!" Luis replied, starting toward the Chief's body. "Aw, _dios mio_ … uh, hey, Leon… maybe you should get the key; we're gonna need it to open the gate, since _someone_ blew up the only bridge out of town."

Key? What key? The Agent hadn't seen a key during all of the fights he had with Mendez, and now there wasn't exactly much for them to search through, given the condition that the Chief had been in when he died. But then the dark haired man pointed to his own eye, and Leon suddenly felt a little sick when he realized what that gesture meant. It sort of made sense, given the shape of that weird round depression in the door, but come on, who would use a fake eyeball for a key? The people of this village, that's who.

The stench of the Chief's remains had gotten even worse in the last minute or so, making the Agent have to hold his breath while he leaned over the putrid nastiness in order to pick up the glass eye. Once it was in his hand, he backed away from the body, coughing and gasping for fresh air while moving back to rejoin the others, and now it was finally time to leave the barn. Luis had been correct about the bridge, since it had been destroyed upon Leon's arrival, leaving that large gate the only option for getting, well… anywhere at all.

"Here, give it to me." The dark haired man said, taking the glass eye. "I'll get the gate open before more villagers come."

"Hey, Leon, wait a sec." Ashley added, stopping him in the doorway as Luis ran off ahead. "I just wanted to say that I think it was real _brave_ how you stood up to that big guy… even _if_ you got your butt kicked."

The Agent started to say something back to this, but was stopped form all thought when the young woman suddenly gave him a kiss on the cheek, before pulling him along to join the dark haired man at the gate. Oh well, at least she didn't seem mad about the whole up-skirt thing anymore, which was good, since Leon didn't want to imagine what the President would have done to him if he were caught _perving_ on his daughter.

It was still raining outside, feeling colder again as they walked back toward the trail, after having brief shelter in the barn. But hey, at least the sun was starting to rise, and… wait a minute, no, the coming dawn was pink at first, not yellow… nor did it flicker and only illuminate the area close to the ground. _Torches_! He hated the idea, but that's what it was, dozens upon dozens of torches… which were slowly coming toward them from in the direction of the village.

"Ashley, run!" Leon ordered, now pulling her along. "Luis, get that gate open, we're gonna have _company_!"


	30. Chapter 30 Leaving the Village

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Thirty: Leaving the Village**

Even with now having the bolt action rifle as well as his reclaimed knife and revolver, there were just too many villagers coming for Leon to fight off, so he ran for the gate, while he and Ashley tried not to slip while making their way across the wet grass of this field. The rain was coming down even harder now, with the wind blowing against them like in one of those dreams where he was running away from something but didn't get anywhere… and Luis _still_ hadn't gotten the gate open when they arrived.

"Luis, come on, we gotta go!" The Agent urged, looking back at the slowly approaching hoard. "I don't mean to rush you, but there's like a _hundred_ angry villagers coming this way, and we just killed their boss."

"I'm going as fast as I can, Leon." He replied, rolling the glass eye around in the gate's depression. "I only saw Mendez use it once, and it's gotta be set in just right."

Unlike when he and Ashley were trying to get back to the trail by going across the field, the approaching villagers didn't seem to have any trouble moving around regardless of the rain. Trying not to panic, and reloading all of his weapons just in case, all the Agent could do was watch as the flickering torch light got closer. A couple of them went out because of the rain, but the ones who had been holding them were still there, getting close enough now for Leon to begin to make out their individual features.

"Ashley, get behind me." He said, guiding her with one arm, but not knowing what good it would do against that many of…

 _Click_ , suddenly there was a mechanical sound behind them as the glass eyeball spun itself around into a new position, followed by a hard metallic _pop_ as the gate swung open on its surprisingly quiet hinges. Without another word, Leon grabbed the young woman's hand, turning away from the approaching threat, and nearly pulling her off her feet when he followed the dark haired man through to what he hoped was safety. As soon as all three were through, they worked together to shove it closed again, but there was a problem… it wasn't locking.

"The eye!" Luis exclaimed as the flickering glow of torch light started to be visible over the wall. "Leon, I forgot to take the eye back out!"

"What are we gonna do?!" Ashley yelled, holding onto the Agent's arm while the sounds of angry yelling reached their ears. "Leon, they're gonna get us!"

"No, they won't, Ashley." Leon reassured her, only partly believing it himself. "Run! We gotta run!"

On the other side of the gate there was more of the same kind of environment, trees, rocks, and a dirt trail that went up a rather steep hill toward that gigantic stone structure he had seen earlier. However, the wind and rain were making it even harder to go up the hill, thanks to the mud, and the three of them had only gotten partway up when the gate swung open behind them.

" _Que tan estupidos podrian ser para olvidar el ojo_?" One of them yelled as they started coming through. " _Matalos hombres y llevad a la nina_!"

Whatever that guy had said, caused the others to cheer as they started running up the trail, but this time they were having just as much trouble climbing up through the mud, and that gave Leon an idea. _Bang_! _Bang_! Taking out the revolver and firing two shots, he aimed downward toward their pursuer's legs, hitting two of them so that they fell down right in front of the others. This caused the ones behind them to trip over their comrades, slowing down the ones further back, and allowing the small group to put more distance between them.

"Leon, we need a plan!" Luis exclaimed as the villagers struggled to regain their footing. "There's no trails past this place, where are we gonna go?!"

 _Bang_! Looking back and firing another shot just as some of the villagers were able to get up, the Agent saw that the dark haired man was right about there not being any more trails to follow once they had reached the top of the hill. It was easier to run, however, and now he could see that there was a long drawbridge between them and the structure, which he could see was definitely a castle… a drawbridge that spanned across a wide, seemingly bottomless chasm.

Ignoring the sudden words of protest that came from Luis, Leon changed direction in order to pull Ashley onto the start of the drawbridge, giving the dark haired man no choice but to follow, unless he wanted to be left alone in the woods with an angry mob after him. _Thud-thud-thud_ , their feet made a kind of echoing sound as they ran across the damp wood, and having to grab onto the guardrails a couple times to keep from slipping over the edge. More than halfway across when the villagers were finally able to start pursuing them again, the Agent's only hope was that there was a way to raise the bridge on the other side, or else they would just be cornering themselves.

"Up there, just past the wall!" Luis shouted, pointing to the left side of the opening up ahead. "We gotta turn the wheel before they reach the halfway point, or we're in a lot of trouble!"

Just as the dark haired man described, there was an old fashioned turn-wheel set against the wall immediately after their feet reached the stone walkway of the castle, which was actually even more slippery and hard to walk on without slipping. The turn-wheel was attached to some heavy ropes that raised and lowered the bridge, but it was so hard to turn that it took the efforts of all three of them to make it start turning. Most of the villagers were already on the bridge when it divided at the halfway point, each side being slowly raised up away from each other, with the Agent just hoping that the old ropes didn't break.

Many of the villagers slid back onto the rocky hill when the bridge got too high for them to stay standing on it, but a couple managed to climb up onto the edge that was now the top, making a desperate leap for the other side… only to scream as they fell down into the dark abyss. _Tick-tick-tick-tick_ , the wheel kept turning until this side of the bridge came to rest over the opening like a cover, ensuring that the villagers could never get to them as long as the ropes held… but now the three of them were trapped inside of this old, stone castle, unless they could find another way out.

"All right, looks like we're safe for now." The Agent commented, looking through the crack between the bridge and the wall. "Villagers aren't leaving, though, I can see their torches over there… all right, Luis, you seem to know the most about this place, is there another way out of here?"

"Leon, I'm gonna tell you honestly, we were better off in the woods." The dark haired man replied with a grave tone. "And no, we're _not_ safe here, not for a _second_ … I was coming _away_ from here when they caught me in the village, and I was almost out, but then I found that the only bridge had been destroyed, and then _you two_ ran right into my hiding place. Could have hid there for _days_ if you hadn't shown up."

Suddenly Ashley stepped forward and slapped him in the face, seeming to surprise him and Leon for a second, before adding to the surprise when Luis slapped her in return. This caught the young woman completely off guard, making her gasp, and causing the Agent to have to catch her so that she wouldn't fall down backwards. The young woman's cheek was reddened from the hit, and Leon was about to say something to Luis, when Ashley turned around and hugged him, burying her face into his shoulder while starting to cry.

"Luis, what the hell?" He asked, holding the young woman. "You can't just hit a girl like that… come on, we're all in this together, and we need to stop fighting if any of us want to get out of here alive."

"Leon, I'm sorry, but not everyone is a hero like you, all right?" The dark haired man answered. "My days of carrying a badge and saving the day are over, and… I'm sorry for hitting you, Ashley, but in this world if you are tough enough to hit a man, you better be tough enough to take what he gives you in return."

The Agent's first instinct had been to slug Luis in the mouth for hitting her like that, but in this situation he needed all the friends he could get. If this place was truly even more dangerous than the village, however impossible that sounded, the three of them were going to have to get over their differences, especially since the dark haired man was the only one of them who had ever been inside this place before. They needed him to guide them through, and to warn them about whatever possible dangers were waiting.

"No, I can't risk helping you two anymore." Luis sharply answered stepping away from them. "I know you've both been implanted, and in a couple days it'll all be over for you, but if they get _me_ back… it will be _so_ much worse if I have to go back to work, so I'm sorry, but from now on you're on your own."

With that, the dark haired man turned around and ran off down the stone path, leaving Leon just standing there, still holding Ashley as the retreating footsteps got farther away until no longer being heard. Now they were alone again, facing a completely new environment, while also wondering about the last thing Luis had said… something about things getting worse if he had to go back to work… what work? What the hell did the villagers need someone like _him_ for, and how could it make things any worse?

"Leon, what's gonna happen to us?" The young woman asked, moving back far enough to look up at him. "What are we gonna do?"

"First thing we gotta do is get out of this rain." The Agent replied, noticing how soaked and shivering she was. "Once we find a secure place, I'll contact headquarters, and then they'll get us out of here, I just… I just need you to be brave for a little while longer, okay."

She nodded, hugging him again before it was time to get moving, with Leon slinging the rifle over his back before taking out the revolver with one hand, and holding hers with the other. He felt conflicted about the way the young woman was as they started moving away from the raised drawbridge, on one hand liking how much she needed him, but also heavily wishing that she could have been more like Claire Redfield, so that he would actually have some help once in a while, because… honestly Ashley was pretty useless in a fight.

Beyond the short stone corridor beyond the gate, which was nothing but a walkway surrounded by high walls made of the same white material, there was a white staircase that curved around, and beyond that… who knew? This whole mission was crazy, more so than anything the Agent had seen in Raccoon City or onboard the Starlight, with so many unknown factors; the mysterious woman who had saved him twice, Luis's vague _work_ , the true identity and motivations of the Merchant… none of this made sense, and he had a feeling that there would be more questions than answers as they started moving into the castle.


	31. Chapter 31 An Old Castle

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Thirty One: An Old Castle**

If the village had been a throwback to Europe's distant medieval past, then exploring this castle felt as if Leon had suddenly been catapulted forward in time to the days of Napoleon. Well, the architecture itself was probably a few hundred years older than that, with its hand-carved stone surfaces, and what remained of the old battlements that the Agent could see as he and Ashley moved away from the upward drawbridge… seriously, this place was armed with partially rotted old catapults, and even some rusted out cannons.

The place was probably put together back in the 1600's or something, but Leon's mind was put to the days of Napoleon when he noticed that the place was illuminated, not with torches as had been with the village, but with electric lightbulbs. Mounted on the walls where the torches probably would have been, and protected with iron cages, there were primitive incandescent lightbulbs that gave off the same yellowish glow as their fiery predecessors, just without the flickering, and spaced far enough apart so that only the most basic features of the castle could be seen.

After leaving the drawbridge and following Luis's path up the curved staircase, the rain actually started coming down harder, forcing him and Ashley to take shelter underneath the gazebo-style roof that covered an old stone well in the small courtyard that followed. More thunder and lightning now, allowing a brief, but clearer look at the stone walls surrounding them, but although there was still no sign of the dark haired man who had abandoned them… at least there were no villagers so far, either.

Now that the two of them were relatively safe for the moment, the next thing that needed to be done was to contact Hunnigan. Maybe now that the Agent had retrieved the President's daughter for the second time, maybe her father would actually do something to help them out, seeing as the people in this place somehow had the ability to shoot down extraction helicopters… at night, in the rain, at a moment's notice… God damn it, how the hell had they been able to do that, especially if no one knew… that it was coming to get them in the first place?

Was it possible that they _did_ know? No, that was ridiculous, since the only two people on the ground who had this kind of communication technology were himself and the CIA Investigator, and honestly if that guy had wanted to sabotage the mission, he probably could have just left Leon to die at any time during the last eight hours. But for someone else to be able to intercept and decode the transmissions, they would have not only needed the same tech, but also had to have an extensive knowledge of Top Secret US Government codes and frequencies… not something someone could just pick up in the local black market.

"Hunnigan, I've retrieved the target." He reported, deciding not to mention his suspicions, just in case they were right. "We had to take cover inside an old castle; what's the update on extraction?"

" _That's great news, President Graham will be so relieved_." His operator replied, even though the audio and image weren't as clear as before. " _Hold on, something's not right… I'm having trouble getting your location, and… your audio is a bit scratchy_."

As far as his location, the Agent could only tell her that he was inside the only _massive stone castle_ that was anywhere _near_ the village, but Hunnigan just wasn't able to pick him up, even after taking a moment to adjust the satellite feed at her end. Could it have been something to do with the weather, or maybe the walls of this place somehow scrambling his signal? If so, then the best thing for him to do would be to get to higher ground… yeah, if he and Ashley could get up onto one of the castle's higher towers, then not only would the signal be restored, but it would also provide a perfect spot for extraction.

"All right, we're gonna head for one of the towers." Leon said as the static got worse. "I'll contact you again when we get there… Hunnigan? Are you receiving me?"

" _Agent Kennedy? Leon? Are you there?_ " She asked, her image slowly fading into white noise. " _We're having trouble_ …

Aw, crap, the Agent thought as the last of the audio and visual faded out, leaving him and Ashley on their own, at least for now. Even though the operator hadn't physically been there with him for the events of the past day, it still made Leon feel better to know that someone back home was keeping an eye on him, however limited it was to rely on a single satellite, but now… now it really felt like he was alone. The young woman next to him seemed to pick up on this feeling, slowly moving closer to him while turning her head to look out in all directions as if suddenly expecting to be ambushed like before.

She was shivering, not exactly dressed for the cold weather, made even more freezing by the wind and rain… he would have given her his jacket to wear, if it hadn't vanished after his first meeting with Chief Mendez. Now that he thought about it, the Agent was feeling pretty cold himself when he breathed out, the warm air from his lungs heavily visible as it passed through the lower temperatures… it would be better once they were inside, at least they would be dry and out of the wind. Suddenly the young woman's stomach rumbled loudly, interrupting the Agent's thoughts.

"Oh, sorry about that." She said, groaning a little when it rumbled again. "It's just… it's just been a while since they gave me anything to eat."

"Yeah, I know the feeling." Leon replied, reaching into his pocket. "I don't have much, but I saved these raisins from my…

Gasping when she suddenly snatched them out of his hand, Ashley tore open the sealed package before bringing it up to her mouth and then scarfing down like a starving animal. The package, which held a surprisingly large amount of raisins, was empty in a matter of seconds, and then the young woman belched loudly, briefly startling both of them for a moment, and then causing her face to briefly turn red. Nothing to be ashamed of, since the Agent had reacted the same way when the Merchant gave him that MRE in the first place… of course now he wished that he had saved more than just the raisins.

"Come on, we gotta keep moving." He said, taking her hand once again. "We just gotta get to the roof, and then in a few hours you'll be nice and safe, back at home."

She nodded and tried to smile, but there really wasn't much to be happy about at the moment, aside from the fact that Chief Mendez was dead… yeah, that made Leon pretty happy to think about. Ashley gasped when they stepped back out into the heavy rain, putting her arm up above her head, but then lowering it again when she realized that it wasn't going to help… well, at least she was a bit nicer to look at now that the dirt was getting washed off her skin.

All right, which way should they go? Every path that led away from the small courtyard looked the same, even though some went upward, some down more stairs, and a couple on the same level. Up was the way to go if the two of them ever wanted to get out of there, so the Agent led the way up another, larger set of curved stairs that took them past a couple more of the old, partially rotted catapults, and he couldn't help but wonder if these things had even actually been used.

The stone floor was slick from the water, too, so they had to be careful so as not to slip or fall back down the stairs, but there was some kind of stone shed up a little farther, revealing itself with how there was more light coming from its windows than on the walls surrounding it. Well, this was as good a place as any to take a break from the rain, so Leon headed toward it, taking a quick look in through the glassless window when they got close, only to have to pull Ashley along with him against the wall next to it, in reaction to what he saw inside.

" _Escuche que habia algun tipo de disturbio en el pueblo_." A voice said from inside the shed. " _Senor Saddler salio a investigarlo personalmente_."

During his brief glance into the shed, the Agent saw that it was more like a guard station than a storage room, as it contained a table and chairs along with some other basic furnishing made of stained wood, in contrast to the dried and flimsy material used out in the village. It also contained three men with discolored skin, but they were not covered in dirt, nor were they wearing shabby clothes like the villagers. In fact, they were wearing hooded black robes that were very well made and embroidered with the same symbol of Los Iluminados across the front and back, just silver instead of the multiple colors that Saddler wore.

They definitely looked a lot more like cult members than the people back in the village, and they carried _far_ better weapons in their hands; one of them holding a double-bladed axe that was slung over his shoulder, while another held what almost looked like a flail that had a spiked metal ball on the end of it. Upon seeing this, all feelings of safety were gone, as was the tiny shattered hope that this castle had somehow been completely abandoned… no, of course, he just _had_ to pick the cultist's _base_ of operations as a hiding place… good job, Leon.

" _Todivia estan buscando a ese cientifico_?" Another of them said while the Agent urged Ashley to start backing away. " _Dicen que iba a intentar usar el viejo puente_."

Letting out a sigh of relief once they were away from the guard station without getting spotted, Leon was getting nervous now, because there was no way of knowing how many cultists were inside the castle, nor did he know where they were going to be patrolling, since the only member of the group who had ever been inside the castle before had decided to abandon them. He supposed that it was sort of a blessing that Luis hadn't been caught yet, since the alarm hadn't been raised throughout the castle, but now not only did the Agent have to get himself and Ashley up on top of one of the towers in order to call for extraction… but now he had to do it without being seen, and if the village had been any indication, then there were probably _a lot_ of cultists within the castle's walls.


	32. Chapter 32 The Front Door

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Thirty Two: The Front Door**

So far it seemed that all of the robed cultists around the castle were staying indoors, which was good since Leon and Ashley were stuck wandering around outside from one enclosed section of courtyard to the next. There were plenty of detached sheds and storage rooms, all made of the same moss-covered white stone as the rest of the castle, but no matter where they looked, there didn't seem to be a way to actually get _into_ the building. High up above the Agent could see walkways and ledges that were illuminated by the same old fashioned lightbulbs, but no ladders or stairways that actually went up to them.

A few times they had stopped underneath an awning or inside of one of the empty storage sheds in order to try contacting Hunnigan again, but there was no response, even from in the center of the larger courtyards where there was nothing above to get in between them and the satellite. It made no sense at all that his operator couldn't pick up their location or receive their signal, maybe if Leon had been using a conventional radio or something, but not one that worked on satellite signal.

With no way to reach headquarters, and no way to climb up toward the roof from outside, there was no choice but to keep going until they found… well, anything at all. Damn it, there had to be a way in, like a main door or something, since all these cultists got in and out somehow, and there was still no sign of Luis. Then it happened, the Agent having to stop suddenly and step back after rounding the next corner, after spotting two more of the robed cultists… who were standing watch on either side of a very big set of wooden double doors.

Unlike the other guards that they had seen, these two were standing right out in the open, seemingly oblivious of the pouring rain even as it soaked them completely. In the light from the single bulb above the door, Leon also noticed that one of them was wearing a large keyring on his belt, one of which probably fit into the oversized keyhole in the center of the double doors… but how in the hell was he going to get the keys without alerting every robed freak in the castle that they were there in the first…

 _Crash_! The Agent's thoughts were interrupted by thunder a second after the flash of lightning, and that actually gave him an idea. Like the Merchant had told him back at the gold mine, all of the answers were usually right around him, and now some of those answers prompted him to take out his revolver. Pushing Ashley behind him, and then aiming at the nearest guard, Leon waited until the next time the whole place was illuminated by lightning, before pulling the trigger just as the following thunder started to rumble.

Success! With the thunder masking the sound of his shot completely, the other guard didn't even notice when his partner collapsed to the ground as the result of a bullet slamming into the side of his head, leaving the two of them still undetected. The ammo for the rifle was too precious to waste, and the Agent was almost out of revolver ammo as well, so instead of waiting for another thunder crash to mask a shot, he holstered the weapon before taking out his knife and running right toward the remaining guard.

The robed cultist was completely unaware of his presence as he attacked, and it would have been a perfect ambush if Leon hadn't slipped on the wet stone. Unable to stop himself from crying out as he slid right past the guard, the Agent ended up grabbing the cultist by the robe as he desperately tried to catch himself, resulting in both of them falling to the ground. Now completely aware of what was going on, the guard tried to call out for help, but thankfully Leon was able to prevent this by kicking him in the mouth so hard that a tooth fell out.

He had dropped the knife during the fall, so the Agent was grabbing for the bladed weapon, when the guard leapt on top of him while reaching for his throat. Leon couldn't reach the knife, but there was no other guard to go after Ashley, so he called out to her while pointing at it. All the young woman had to do was pick up the blade and stab the cultist in the back, or at least slide the weapon to within his reach, but just like what had happened after saving her from the church, the President's daughter simply froze like a deer in the headlights.

"Ashley, get the knife!" He called, trying to keep the guard from strangling him. "Ashley… get the… fucking… knife!"

Still she just stood there, eyes wide and mouth partially hanging open, not making a single move to help him, nor even trying to run away like a lot of people did who couldn't fight… meaning that Leon was on his own. Letting go of the guard's wrists, the Agent moved as quickly as he could, grabbing the cultist by the robes and head-butting him in the nose as hard as he could, before pulling the material crossways in an attempt to choke his attacker out. It didn't seem to really do much to the cultist, but it did get him to let go of Leon's neck, allowing him an opening to punch him in the eye.

Throwing the guard off balance enough to flip him over onto the stone floor, the Agent got on top of him and put the cultist into a sleeper hold, cranking the deranged man's head as far as he could to the left… farther… farther… and then wrenching it back to the right so fast and hard that there was a wet _snap_ before the cultist stopped moving all together. He needed a moment to catch his breath after that one, not just coughing from being choked again, but also from how sore his shoulder was after taking that fall… oh, and _now_ Ashley wanted to start moving, rushing over to him and kneeling down to see if he was all right.

"Ashley, what the hell?!" The Agent scolded, maybe harsher than intended while retrieving his knife. "Why didn't you help me?!"

"I… I don't know, I just couldn't." The young woman replied, her lip still trembling a little. "I didn't… I didn't know what to do, and I… I was scared."

Scared… she was _scared_ , Leon thought as he sat up on the wet stone, he was on his back being strangled to death by a reject from _Harry Potter_ , and she was _scared_?! He didn't mean to snap at her, he really didn't, somehow the young woman needed to understand that the two of them were alone out here, and that if they didn't help each other out every now and then, that neither one of them were going to get out of this alive. The Agent understood that this situation was pretty extreme, but he had to make her realize that there were going to be times when the young woman was going to have to fight, and maybe even kill.

"You want me to… fight and _kill_ people?!" Ashley exclaimed, visibly horrified by the thought as she stepped back. "Leon, I'm not some kind of _super-spy_ like you are, I'm… I'm not some kind of battle-hardened killer, I'm a twenty year old _college student_ , for God's sake, how… how could you even _begin_ to expect me to… to handle this _at all_?"

"Claire Redfield handled Raccoon City pretty well." He replied, pulling himself to his feet. "And she was a _nineteen_ year old college student, and oh yeah, she had to look after a twelve year old girl, on top of all that."

With their argument getting louder and louder, the young woman was just starting to suggest that he go and rescue _this Claire girl_ instead, when she suddenly stopped talking… getting a little pale in the face while pointing behind him… to where Leon noticed that they were no longer alone after turning around. There were two more of the robed cultists standing in the pathway, as well as two more on the other side, apparently having been alerted by all of the arguing, which the Agent now felt really stupid about… but not enough to stop him from taking out the revolver and aiming at the closest one's head.

 _Bang_! _Bang_! Shooting one in the throat, and the one next to him in the chest, Leon turned around and shot one of the others in the leg, before finally scoring another head shot on the very last one. Well, here was another chance for Ashley to prove herself, he thought while tossing her the key ring. There were already a couple more robed cultists walking up behind the others, but if he could keep them back long enough for her to get the door open, then maybe the two of them wouldn't get killed just yet.

" _Esa es la chica que estamos buscando_!" One of them announced while pointing. " _Como llegaron tan lejos sin que nosotros lo supieramos?!_ "

"Hurry up, Ashley, they're getting _mad_." Leon urged, aiming the revolver back and forth at them. " _Really_ need that door open now."

"I'm going as fast as I can." The young woman replied, putting another key into the lock. "There's a lot of keys on this ring."

 _Bang_! Shooting the next one who took a step forward right in the mouth, the Agent was glad to see that he caused the cultist such pain as he stumbled and groaned, but there was a dire thought that came with this. From when he started the stealth attack on the guards to right now, he had fired the weapon _six_ times, meaning that the cylinder was empty, and the hooded cultists would know that if he tried to reload, and could simply rush him. So he kept moving the empty weapon back and forth between them, at least until he sighed with relief after hearing a hard metal _click_ from behind.

"Leon, I got it!" She announced, starting to pull the heavy door open. "Come on!"

Backing up toward the door while the young woman opened it with a drawn out _squeak_ of the rusting hinges, the Agent suddenly turned and ran inside just as the guards started rushing toward him, using his sore shoulder to slam it in their faces just in time. _Screech_! Shoving the locking bar back into place, Leon smiled a little, listening to the muffled yelling of the cultists outside as they pounded on the door. Without the keys, there was no way for them to get in, meaning that he and Ashley were safe for the moment.

"Well, how was _that_ , Leon?" The young woman asked with a hint of an attitude in her voice. "How do I compare to _Claire Redfield_ now?"

The honest answer was _not even close_ , but instead the Agent simply decided to tell her that she was doing _better_ … in fact, _a lot_ better since her last two attempts to help him resulted in, well… no results at all. She took the compliment, though, managing to smile a little bit, herself, upon meeting his approval, and hopefully she would continue to do so throughout the rest of this mission… which he hoped wouldn't be very long.


	33. Chapter 33 Ramon Salazar

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Thirty Three: Ramon Salazar**

Finally getting a break from the cold wind and water outside, Leon was actually a bit surprised by how much warmer it was inside of the castle… warm, and now eerily quiet with the heavy door and stone walls muffling the sound of both the storm and the cultists who were still futilely trying to get in. There was more light in here as well, since the primitive incandescent bulbs had been fitted into small decorative chandeliers that hung above this entry hallway, revealing that there were no more robed cultists in sight.

In fact, except for some rounded support pillars and a long narrow closet off to the side where a bunch of old coats were hanging, this area was completely empty… so much so that even the drops of water falling from him and Ashley's clothes was enough to make a soft echo when it hit the stone floor. Well, there was no time to stand around gawking at an empty room, they needed to get to one of the tower roofs in order to call Hunnigan for extraction, so the Agent led onward, moving through the open doorway at the other end into a chamber that was much bigger.

Crafted in the same styling with pillars and a stone floor, this place, which he guessed was the castle's main hall, was wide and open enough to hold at least a hundred people, like one of those rooms in the old movies where everyone gathered for the royal ball. Lightning flashed outside, shown by the small windows that lined the walls to the far left and right, but only allowing the two of them to see how much water was running down the glass outside before it faded back into nighttime darkness.

Ashley was moving closer to him again, apparently made even more nervous by the muffled sound of thunder that came after the brief light, causing her to take his hand again. Leon sighed with slight irritation, since he had been just about to reload his revolver, which was needed for obvious reasons, but then again the young woman couldn't be expected to help him very much if she was scared out of her mind. So he holstered the weapon and gave the frightened girl a hug, which Ashley seemed to need given how much she was shaking… but then it was the _Agent_ who was suddenly nervous when a new sound reached his ears.

It was a laugh, a chuckling, sinister one that sounded kind of like _Skeletor_ from that old _Masters of the Universe_ cartoon, and the strange thing was that it was coming from above them. Following the sound with his eyes, Leon saw that there was a short walkway above the main hall, kind of like an observation platform, and standing on top of it was… whoa, check out _this_ guy. With graying hair and discolored skin like the villagers, he was dressed like Little Lord Fauntleroy with expensive looking purple and blue short pants, buckled shoes, and a tricorn hat as if he had been pulled out of the 1700's or something… he was also about four feet tall, only about a head taller than the balcony's guardrail.

"What an adorable little couple you two make." He sneered, still chuckling a bit. "I didn't believe it at first when they told me you had killed poor Bitores Mendez out in the village, but here you are, so it must be true… welcome to my home, my brethren."

An almost polite bow was followed by the little man's words, but even though he didn't seem overly threatening, the Agent wasn't going to take any chances. The revolver was still empty, so Leon quickly unslung the rifle, working the bolt, and then aiming up toward the balcony, ready to pull the trigger at the slightest sign of trouble. Their host, however, didn't seem bothered by this gesture, simply snickering again before saying hello to Ashley.

"Hey, pal, you don't need to speak to her." The Agent warned, keeping the little man's face on target. "Now, are you just like the _rest_ of the psychos I've met tonight, or do you actually have a name?"

"Ah, yes, of course… where are my manners?" He replied, almost sounding sorry for his behavior. " _Me llamo_ Ramon Salazar, the eighth Castalian of this magnificent architecture, hereditary master of the surrounding lands as well as all who dwell upon them… and your host for the remaining time before your… _conversion_ into the ranks of Los Iluminados is complete."

Ashley moved closer to him again when Salazar suggested that the two of them simply _surrender without a fuss_ and willingly become their hostages, since the young woman was worth a lot of money. And then the little man commented that even though the Agent wasn't worth a dime, the great Senor Saddler was already considering him as Mendez's replacement out in the village… at least once he embraced the true faith… but also that resistance had its consequences.

"Oh yeah? Consequences?" Leon replied, taking his own turn to laugh. "What are you gonna do if I decline, _bro_? You gonna get physical with me?"

"Not at all, Mr. Kennedy, perish the thought." Salazar answered, stepping back as if offended by the accusation. "Believe it or not, I'm a lover, not a fighter, so I don't _get physical_ with my enemies… that's what I have _them_ for."

Out of the corner of his eye the Agent saw movement, causing him to look away from the little man just as a large figure stepped out from behind one of the nearby support pillars. It was as tall as Mendez had been, but not as stocky, and wearing a simple red version of the heavy robes that Saddler had worn back at the church. They were a bit better at hiding the figure's face, however, allowing Leon to see only that… something was _very_ wrong with its face… and that instead of having regular hands, it had some sort of long, insect-like appendages that…

 _BANG_! Another identical figure in a black robe stepped out from behind a pillar behind Ashley just as the red one started toward him, so Leon aimed the rifle and fired, causing sparks to fly when the large caliber bullet struck the creature's unseen face… as if it had hit metal instead of flesh. The creature twitched for a second before slowly starting to walk toward the Agent again, and in reaction Leon continued to shoot, working the bolt and pulling the trigger as quickly as he could, but getting the same result no matter where on the creature's body he aimed for.

Ashley screamed when the black robed creature grabbed her behind, restraining the young woman's arm with one long clawed hand while trapping her whole head in the other, but the Agent couldn't do anything to help her at the moment. _BANG! BANG!_ He managed to get two more shots off with the rifle before the red robed creature reached him, but when it got close enough to use its clawed hands, it didn't grab Leon… instead pulling the weapon out of his hands and then snapping it in half like a twig.

"Oh… crap." He whispered, taking a step back. "Crap, crap, crap, crap."

With no weapons to use other than his knife, the Agent kicked the figure in the stomach while reaching for the blade, but it was about as effective as kicking one of the castle's stone walls, and no sooner had the red robed creature dropped the broken rifle pieces, when it grabbed Leon's arm before he could use the knife. Now shaking him around so violently that the blade fell from his grip, the red robed creature removed the Agent's utility belt, taking the empty revolver with it when it was tossed across the room, and then it restrained him in the same way that Ashley was being held.

"You see, Mr. Kennedy? Consequences." The little man said as he came down the stairs into the main chamber. " _Poner a estos campesinos de rodillas_."

Leon and Ashley both cried out as their captors forced them to kneel down on the floor, making them about the same height as Salazar when he finally reached them. The Agent tried to break free, but struggling against these robed creatures was like trying to move a mountain, and then the master of the castle was standing right in front of him. The little man didn't say a word, simply chuckling while patting him on the head, and then making the Agent cry out in agony when he slammed his foot into Leon's groin.

"The sad part is that you two could have avoided this." Salazar continued, now walking over to where Ashley was kneeling and putting his finger under her chin. "There is really no point in resisting, since in a couple days your conversion will be complete anyway, and then like all those other pitiful _ganados_ out there… you will both become slaves to my will… and you will do _anything_ I tell you."

He started to laugh again, but then shrieked in surprise when the young woman sunk her teeth into his finger, causing the little man to pull it back before smacking her across the face hard enough to make it echo throughout the room. _Smack! Smack! Smack! Smack!_ Salazar just kept hitting her and hitting her, his calm demeanor gone, and seeming to just get angrier when she started crying and screaming for him to stop.

"Get off her, you prick!" Leon yelled, stopping him in mid-swing. "I swear to God, I'll hang…

Now it was the Agent who was stopped when the little man suddenly ran over and punched him right in the mouth. Someone his size shouldn't have had that much power, but since he had been _converted_ just like all the others, the process must have increased his strength, because that blow hurt _a lot_ more than it should have. Punching him in the face and kicking him in the stomach, Salazar had flown into a rage, and with the red robed creature restraining him there was nothing he could do but take it.

"You peasants think you're better than me, don't you?!" The little man demanded, pulling Leon's hair to make him look at him. "You're just like the cheerleaders and footballers who made fun of me in primary school, well _no more_! _I'm the one_ with the castle and the power, _I'm the one_ who broke the ancient seal over _Las Plagas_ , and _I'm the one_ who made Senor Saddler's dream a reality! _Llevar a la chica a mi mazmorra privada… traer Senor Kennedy conmigo_."

With that, they were separated; the black robed creature putting Ashley over its shoulder and carrying her away, while the red one forced Leon to his feet, making him follow behind as Salazar led them down a different hallway while the young woman's cries for help became more and more muffled.


	34. Chapter 34 El Garrador

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Thirty Four: El Garrador**

With the way that the red robed figure was restraining him, arm twisted behind his back and bent forward so far that he was staring down at his feet, it was almost impossible for Leon to see what was around him as he was marched deeper into the castle. Turning down a few different corridors, and then awkwardly stumbling his way down a long winding staircase, what surprised the Agent the most was when he started hearing voices upon passing through a heavy metal door… voices that sounded a lot more human that most people around the area.

" _Senor Salazar, por favor dejenos salir_!" A woman called out, her voice joined by others as Leon was marched in. " _Hay algo malo en el pueblo, tenemos que volver con nuestros hijos_!"

The little man yelled back at them, quieting most of the voices while Leon was moved through another doorway that was made of metal bars, but it wasn't until the creature pushed him forward and the Agent heard the door slam shut behind him, that he realized he was inside of a prison cell. Illuminated by single bulb fixture just like the outside of the castle, this room consisted of two rows of holding cells that ran on either side of a wide stone corridor, ending at a heavy metal door on each end… leaving him unsure of which one he had been brought through.

" _Dios mio_!" A new, yet familiar voice was heard. " _Hey, vaquero_ , er… hey, cowboy, is that really you? I was starting to think that you and all the others had been killed!"

Following the voice back to its owner, Leon was both surprised and happy to see that the occupant of the last cell on the other side of the dungeon was wearing a light blue _Policia_ jacket… the final missing Officer who had come with him to rescue Ashley. However, the relief of knowing that at least one of them was still alive was quickly stopped when the Agent saw who was standing inside the cell next to that one… a dark haired man who tried to avoid being seen once Leon started looking.

"Hi, Luis, great to see you again." He said in a less than friendly tone. "Say, buddy, how's that whole _lone wolf_ thing working out for you?"

"About the same as your _suicidal heroism_ , from the look of things." Luis replied, folding his arms and looking away. "Hey, what happened to goldilocks? Don't tell me your new girlfriend got sick of you already?"

" _Callate la boca_!" Salazar screamed, quieting the room as his voice echoed. "That means _shut your mouth_ , for any American idiot in the room who came to Spain without knowing the language. Now, as I have been granted superior powers by the great Senor Saddler to pass judgement on any of you pitiful _ganados_ on my family's land, I declare you all to be guilty of treason and heresy against the true faith."

Pretty much everyone in the room must've been able to speak at least some English, since no one was happy to hear what the little man had to say, and then the voices started protesting again, this time in broken English. That same woman from before, a surprisingly normal looking one in a shabby dress like the other villagers pleaded with the Castalian, her voice breaking as she tried to tell him that something horrible was happening to some of the men in the village, followed by begging him to be allowed to go make sure that her children were all right… a plea that caused a knot to form in Leon's stomach.

Those children that he had seen drowned in the well by Mendez's home had been there for quite some time, so how long had this woman been locked up? The other men and women who were in the cells around her looked normal, albeit really dirty, as well, but according to Saddler the Los Iluminados had taken over the village a long time ago, so… how long had these people been down there? Were they among those who were rejected by the conversion, or whatever it was called?

"Disgusting unwashed filth." Salazar said, walking back up to Leon's cell. "I still cannot believe that my ancestor, the first Castalian, was willing to seal away the sacred plagas while they hibernated in their lair underneath this castle… and all just to keep a few of these _peons_ safe from harm. But it's okay, I fixed that mistake; I had these poor fools dig them back out so that Senor Saddler could spread his message of…

 _Whack_! Unable to take any more of the little man's psychotic ranting, Leon balled up his fist and sent it right between the bars, where it interrupted Salazar's words by connecting with his nose. Crying out in pain, and then stumbling backwards to where he fell to the floor, the little man whimpered for a second while some discolored blood dripped from his nostril, but then he became angry, shouting some commands to the red robed figure.

The Agent expected the creature to come into the cell and kill him, but instead it actually started walking away, moving over to the far door and vanishing through it, only to come back into the dungeon a few moments later, carrying a large bucket. At first it looked like the container was full of ice, but then Leon realized that it was glass when the red robed creature began to scatter the pieces and fragments all across the floor until just about every inch that was outside the cells was covered.

 _Crunch-crunch-crunch_ , the glass pieces cracked and popped as the figure again vanished through the door, this time taking a little longer to come back, and pushing a hand-truck that held… oh, seriously, what the hell? There was a man strapped to the hand-truck, stockier than the figure pushing it, but not as tall, and wearing some kind of mask over his face. Gauntlets, too, metal ones that were strapped to his wrist, and on the end of them… at the end of them there was a set of long metal claws that were just… ridiculous.

"Good news, you drooling ingrates." The little man said, wiping his nose as he got to his feet. "I've decided to be merciful, and kill you all quickly… or slowly, it depends on you. Now, you may have noticed that _El Garrador_ here is blind, since we sewed his eyes shut; thank you for the idea, Dr. Sera. Anyway, his hearing is exquisite, and if he hears anything besides talking… well, here, let me show you."

Snapping his fingers and pointing to the cell with the remaining Officer inside, the red robed figure unlocked the bar door and pulled it open, while Salazar took a coin from his pocket. Casually flipping it so that it flew into the cell with him, no sooner had the coin bounced off the floor, when El Garrador made a noise that sounded like he was screaming into a mouth-gag. Effortlessly breaking free of the straps, the blind abomination leapt from the hand-truck, sprinting his way right into the cell, and causing a spray of blood when they were raked across the Officer's face.

Hacking and slashing, sending blood and flesh splattering across the walls, the blind monster just kept stabbing and slicing into the Officer, turning his cries for help into a kind of choking, gurgling sound that fell silent less than a minute later. Once the noise had stopped, El Garrador did as well; its rage cooling off, and then causing it to turn around and return to where it had been resting on the hand-truck. Salazar then snapped his fingers, causing the remaining survivors to gasp as the red robed creature began to unlock and open _all_ of the cell doors.

"If you wish to die quickly, then simply make some noise other than talking." The little man continued once all the doors were open. "If not… then I hope that hunger makes you desperate enough to try and escape. Have fun."

"Fun? Oh, I'll have _fun_ all right." Leon replied, starting forward, but stopping at the edge of the glass. "Starting when I shove your little _half an ass_ into one of those canons outside, and fertilize the landscape, you decrepit old freak."

Stopping in mid-step and turning around after hearing these words, the only part that Salazar reacted too was being called old, to which he laughed before casually commenting that he was only _twenty_ years old, just before leaving the dungeon with the red robed figure. Now the prisoners were alone, all looking at each other for a second, before looking at the blood that was still dripping from El Garrador's claws.

Great, the Agent thought as he looked around, he had been captured _again_ , lost the President's daughter _again_ , been completely disarmed _again_ , and now if Leon wanted to fix any of that, all he had to do was get out of this room without making _any_ noise at all. Well, at least they were still allowed to talk, probably since if they weren't, then their blind _warden_ might have attacked Salazar as well, which left him at least able to see if anyone else there could come up with anything.

" _Vamos, ahora nuestra oportunidad_!" One of the village men exclaimed, moving toward the cell door. " _Subir por los barrotes para evitar el cristal_!"

With that, he climbed up onto the cross-bar stabilizers on the cell wall, swung himself around until he was outside, and then slowly scooted his way toward the next cell. However, there was a support pillar in the way that was too big around for him to simply climb past, so he tried to jump over to the next cell wall. The good news was that he made it, but unfortunately the bars shook when he landed on them… and then the blind warden came running. Again letting out a muffled scream as it readied its claws, the village man screamed as well, sprinting desperately over the glass toward the door, but he hadn't gotten more than three steps before it was all over.

El Garrador made a downward slash with its claws, causing the village man to cry out as his shirt, as well as the back underneath it, were torn open. Arching his back and trying not to fall backwards as he kept running, this final escape attempt was ended when the claws went down across his right leg, completely severing it from the knee down. _Slash-slice-slash_ , the village man made one last attempt to crawl away, but then the claws sliced the top of his head off, leaving the rest of his body convulsing where it lie.

As soon as the noise stopped, the blind warden stopped too, turning around and slowly walking back over to the hand-truck while Leon and the other prisoners desperately tried to come up with a solution that wouldn't get them all killed.


	35. Chapter 35 Prison Break

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Thirty Five: Prison Break**

So there they were, Leon, Luis, and four uninfected villagers, all trapped down in the dungeon of Salazar Castle, but with nothing but only a glass covered floor and a blind warden of sorts to keep them from escaping. The Agent had to admit that the possibility of simply dashing out of the open cell and sprinting toward the door was tempting, but he had seen just how quickly El Garrador could move, and more importantly, how _deadly_ the blind warden was with its claws.

"What if we all run at same time?" One of the villagers suggested in broken English. "It cannot kill _all_ before we reach door, and maybe _some_ can escape."

"No, that's what Salazar _wants_ you to do." Leon interrupted just as the others were starting to agree. "Krauser, my mentor, taught me a lot of things, and the common habits of psychopaths was one of them; he wants us to get desperate and try to escape so that our deaths are a suicide, and he doesn't have to explain anything to his boss."

The little man must have agreed with Mendez about how dangerous the Agent was to leave alive, but instead of dealing with the problem directly, the Castalian was willing to make it look like a tragic accident so Saddler wouldn't be angry. Had to be a way out, though… even without weapons, and with the blind warden just waiting to go after any noise that reached its extremely sensitive ears. Actually, maybe they could use that sensitive hearing to their advantage, and… hey, maybe this while escape thing was as simple as picking up a piece of glass, and then running after throwing it the other way.

Explaining the plan to the others was as easy as that; Leon was going to silently pick up one of the larger pieces of glass, and then throw it all the way toward the other end of the room, with all of them running for the door as soon as El Garrador was as far away from them as he could get. Everyone nodded in agreement, and now it was all up to the Agent, trying his best to keep his hand from shaking, since the slightest unplanned noise would mean certain death. Like with how he had learned to shoot, Leon exhaled to make his movements steadier, and then he sighed with relief when he managed to pick it up without a sound.

Luis and the villagers had nervous smiles on their faces, some of them with legs already shaking with anticipation of the potentially deadly run that was about to happen… leaving the Agent nervous too, since the last thing he needed was to throw the glass right into some nearby bars or something. Holding his breath and leaning out the cell to make sure that didn't happen, Leon pulled his arm back, and tossed the piece of glass toward the blind warden underhand; his eyes widening when it sailed right past the monster, meaning that in just a couple seconds…

 _Pop_! The piece of glass shattered upon hitting the floor, and El Garrador was just starting to react with its usual muffled yell… when there was plenty of unplanned noise as the dark haired man suddenly ran from his cell. No one had been supposed to run until the blind warden went after the glass so that they would have more time, but the monster hadn't even ran around past the hand-truck, when it stopped and turned around… letting out more muffled shrieks as it gave chase. The villagers must have been panicked from this unexpected outcome, and screamed themselves while deciding to take their chances.

Unfortunately, there was no chance for them, and Leon couldn't even let out a yell of warning when El Garrador ran right past his cell, claws raised for the kill. More screams now as the blind warden caught up to them, causing a spray of blood to splatter across the white stone walls when it sliced through the female villager's back. The others weren't too far behind in this order, with the blind warden not even breaking pace as he flailed its big arms wildly, hacking and slashing through all of the villagers, until Luis was the only one left.

Even with the head start he had gotten, and with all of the surviving villagers acting as a shield between himself and the claws, all of this had happened so quickly that the dark haired man had only gotten a half a dozen steps before crying out when the very edge of the claws ripped through the back of his shirt, making Luis stumble forward and fall onto more of the glass. However, this few seconds that passed was also enough for the Agent to take some drastic action of his own… in the form of running up behind the blind warden, and leaping up onto his back.

Immediately forgetting about the wounded Luis, and now focusing everything on its unwanted rider, El Garrador's muffled screamed resumed as it flailed its arms, spinning around and slashing out in all directions. All right, so _maybe_ Leon hadn't thought this completely through, but at least now the dark haired man was still alive, and maybe this time he could… run away… and… stumble right through the door without stopping… leaving the Agent there on his own… again. Aw, crap, now what the hell was Leon gonna do?

Without any weapons, and needing to use both arms and legs in order to hold onto this thing, even if he had some, the Agent was being whipped around and spun as if he were riding some kind of lethal _mechanical bull_ , and just like when he had tried to do one of those back during a weekend off at the Police Academy… he was thrown off just as quickly. The weight of Leon being tossed off while the blind warden leaned to the side caused some of its claws to create sparks as they raked across the floor… at the exact time that its target fell.

Without the loud scrape of those claws, the whump of the Agent hitting the floor would have been the end of him, but the conflicting sounds must have confused El Garrador, because now instead of simply ripping him to shreds, the blind warden now just stood there, trying to look around with blind eyes while listening for the slightest noise… which Leon wasn't about to give it. His hands over his nose and mouth to muffle his own labored breathing, the Agent had landed in the middle of the scattered glass, so trying to get up would have given his position away, leaving him with no choice but to lie where he was, hoping that the monster would simply give up and return to the hand-truck.

But the blind warden didn't give up, it just kept on searching; walking quietly across the glass, and randomly swinging its claws around as its small circular search pattern brought it gradually closer… and closer… and closer. Shit, Leon thought, desperately trying to figure a way out of this, but coming up with nothing. Any minute now this monster was gonna walk right on top of him, but there was nothing he could do about it without giving his position away, and now there was only a single step between life and death for him… with the blind warden lifting up his foot and…

Suddenly frozen by the sound of a sharp whistle coming from behind, El Garrador pulled its foot back, spinning around and letting out a muffled shriek while immediately running toward the person who had just entered the room. It took Leon a second to realize that the person who came in was none other than the Merchant from the village, but instead of running away from the obvious threat that was charging toward him, the hooded man remained where he was.

 _Whoosh_! Ducking down and stepping to the side at the last possible second, the claws cut through the air while the blind warden's momentum, combined with the fragments of glass under its feet, caused El Garrador to slide right through an open cell door. While the monster was busy crashing into the wall, the Merchant quickly grabbed the door and pulled it shut, sealing the blind warden inside when the metal lock closed with a loud _clang_! Reacting to this, the monster slashed out with its claws, making sparks fly when they slid across the metal bars… which didn't break.

"Was that _really_ so hard?" The hooded man asked, his cockney accent fully restored. "You know what you remind me of, Leon? You're like that kid whose parents never get to go out, because every time they turn around he gets into trouble."

"What the… what the _fuck_ do _you_ care, huh?!" The Agent demanded, struggling to get off the floor without getting cut again. "And how come you didn't help the villagers when they were getting sliced up?! You must have been here when they got massacred, so what the hell were you doing?!"

The answer to this question was so simple, yet so cold, that Leon briefly got the shivers, forgetting his attitude for a moment when the Merchant described how he needed to see the capabilities and weaknesses of El Garrador before being able to interfere. The part that shocked the Agent the most wasn't that he had been willing to let all those other people die in order to make a plan, but the fact that the hooded man knew the blind warden's name… as if he had been there watching at least since Leon was put in the cell.

Oh God, seeing all of the mutilated villagers on the floor, people who had not been infected or deranged, just more innocent victims, it… it gave him a vivid flashback of his time onboard the Starlight. On that ship, where he had been facing off against a man whose eyes could turn yellow, was willing to do absolutely _anything_ to accomplish his goals… and who was at one time the greatest detective in the Raccoon City Police Department.

"You… you heartless… _prick_!" The Agent exclaimed, reaching down and picking up a large piece of glass as if it were a knife. "All right, no more games, I know who you are! I don't know what you want with Ashley, or how in the _hell_ you survived the Starlight, but you show me your face… you show me your face right the _hell_ now so I can…

 _Bang_! Leon's words were interrupted when the hooded man took out his revolver and fired a shot, the bullet hitting the piece of glass in his hand so close to his skin that it burned when the makeshift weapon shattered. The blind warden reacted too, muffled screams coming out as its claws raked across the metal bars, while the Agent grabbed his burned hand… and the Merchant started to snicker a little as he removed his hood. It seemed like it was taking him a long time to take down the hood, but when that ridiculous purple scarf was finally pulled down from the hooded man's face, it was him… his hair was slightly longer and he had more beard stubble, but… it was _him_.

"You got a funny way of saying _thank you,_ Leon." Tobias Liquid said as his cockney accent was replaced with the original American. "But that's okay… because I missed you, _too_ , kid."


	36. Chapter 36 Ghost of the Starlight

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Thirty Six: Ghost of the Starlight**

For a good amount of time now, Leon had suspected the true identity of the Merchant, but now that the hooded man had unmasked himself, it was just… unreal to see the face of the man who had caused so much destruction onboard the Starlight. But how was this possible? Tobias Liquid had been completely out of his viral power, shot several times by Barry Burton, and then left floating face down in the swimming pool of a sinking cruise liner, so how had he survived? And more importantly, what was he doing there in Spain?

"So, what did you do, _kill_ the real Investigator?" The Agent asked, letting go of his hand as the burning sensation started to fade. "What's your plan this time, Tobias, use me to get to Ashley, then kill me and ransom her yourself?"

"I _am_ the real Investigator, you jackass." The hooded man replied as his eyes flashed yellow. "Allow me to introduce myself; Special Agent Tobias Liquid, CIA… and if I wanted to kill you, kid… I probably wouldn't have saved your life _four times_ in the past eight hours."

That was actually… a good point. Under the guise of the Merchant, Tobias had seemingly been doing everything in his power to keep Leon alive for some reason, although that didn't make any sense at all, since the Agent had been responsible for killing his wife, Gillette, back onboard the Starlight. The hooded man also had a loaded revolver pointed at Leon while he was unarmed… only to holster it instead of just outright killing him, but how was it possible for someone like _him_ , a terrorist who caused a viral outbreak, to be working for the CIA?

The Agent's thoughts were briefly interrupted when El Garrador started freaking out inside its cell, its claws sparking across the metal bars while letting out more of those muffled screams while desperately trying to find a way to get out. After a few seconds of being unsuccessful, the blind warden started to calm down, while starting to slowly pace around the caged room like it was searching for some kind of hidden exit. _Bang_! Leon couldn't help jumping a little when Tobias took out his revolver again, this time aiming into the cell, and firing a shot right into El Garrador's ear.

Disoriented by the hit, which caused a small spray of discolored blood as its right ear was completely destroyed, the blind warden started to scream again while flailing its arms, but this time it stumbled sideways, with sparks made against every bar its claws hit while it was falling to the ground. Being blind, this monster relied almost solely on its hearing in order to function, and it seemed… overly cruel and heartless for the hooded man to impair these senses further when the monster was already caged… as if he was now intentionally torturing it… especially when he waited for it to roll over before shooting the other one.

"Jesus, that's enough!" Leon yelled as the blind warden started screaming and flailing around as if it no longer knew which way was up. "You've got it contained, it's helpless!"

"And what happens when your midget buddy lets him out again, huh?" Tobias argued, replacing the spent bullets. "You know what your problem is, kid? You don't have a proactive bone in your _entire_ body, you know that?"

This scolding continued with the hooded man explaining how he had watched the Agent blunder his way right into countless traps and ambushes, only to flop around like an idiot until he somehow got himself out of them as if Leon were the luckiest son of a bitch alive, and that didn't include the times that Tobias was able to rescue him. In the cell behind him, El Garrador was no longer screaming or moving at all, but just kind of lying there helplessly, but Tobias wasn't giving the monster a second thought.

"Kid, I didn't track the President's daughter halfway around the world just to watch you fuck it up." The hooded man continued, now starting toward him. "But that's no longer my problem; I've been ordered to stay as far away from Ashley as possible, so what you and _Hostage Barbie_ do isn't my affair, but answer me this… how do you know Ada Wong?"

"Ada… Ada Wong?" Leon asked, unable to hide how surprised he was by the change of subject. "Ada died back in Raccoon City, what… what the hell does _she_ have to do with anything?"

Tobias smirked again, shaking his head as if disappointed in the Agent's deductive skills, before explaining that both the muddy footprint at the lake house _and_ the bullet casings in Mendez's house had led him right to her… being that she was wearing the boots and carrying a matching submachine pistol. No, this yellow eyed prick was lying, Leon thought as the explanation continued. There was _no way_ that Ada could have survived falling from that bridge in the lab underneath Raccoon City, and even if she had, then… then why hadn't she contacted him at all in the past six years?

"Your name came up a couple times during a little _conversation_ we had recently." The hooded man explained, stopping once he was within arm's length of Leon. "Right around the same time she told me she was working with Albert Wesker."

What? No, that was stupid, Leon thought, okay, sure, Ada had been an Umbrella agent back in Raccoon City, and she might or might not have been willing to kill him over the G-Virus sample, but Wesker? After her escape from Rockfort Island, Claire Redfield had told the Agent all about her encounters with the former Captain of STARS during their last communication, and the guy sounded more like a _James Bond_ villain than anything else. Ada might have had questionable morals, but she was really smart, so if she really was still alive, there was no way she would work with a super-powered psycho like that guy.

On the other side of that, Leon's heart had skipped a beat upon hearing that the dark haired woman was still alive, and even more so when Tobias talked about finding her by using the boots and bullet casings, meaning that it had been Ada who saved him from the Chief's house _and_ after his seizure by the lake. Granted, he and Ada had not left things off under the best of terms, for instance her wanting to shoot him to get the sample, and him hooking up with Claire for a while immediately after… but if she really _was_ still alive…

"Great, _once again_ , you don't know a damn thing." The hooded man continued, interrupting his thoughts. "All right, fine, let's focus on the current problems; my communicator stopped working, not that Old Graham is gonna send help until we get Ashley back, so I'm thinking we should head back to the ballroom, and start…

"Wait a second, hold on, I'm not going _anywhere_ with you." Leon snapped, taking a step backwards. "You killed… you killed _hundreds_ of people on the Starlight, and… no, I don't believe _anything_ you're saying to me. You _don't_ work for the CIA, you _don't_ know Ada Wong, and you're just trying to manipulate me into helping you get Ashley for… for whatever awful shit you're planning to…

 _Smack_! The Agent was caught completely off guard when Tobias suddenly smacked him in the mouth, but there wasn't much power behind the blow, so Leon could have easily stayed on his feet… if he hadn't slipped on more of the glass pieces. The hooded man mocked some of his words in a high-pitch squeaky voice, which only made the Agent even angrier after falling to the floor, but this time Tobias wasn't going to get away with it, so Leon jumped up while swinging his fist.

His plan had been to strike the hooded man on the jaw, but Tobias leaned backwards just enough to avoid it, before bringing up his own leg and kicking the Agent in the chest while he was off balance, sending him back to the floor. Now seeing red and he pulled himself to his feet, Leon advanced this time by spinning around and throwing out his foot using one of the moves that Krauser had taught him. However, the hooded man just ducked under it while grabbing Leon's other ankle, sending him face first down onto the floor once again after pulling it out from under him.

"God, who taught you how to fight?" Tobias asked as Leon started getting up again. "You telegraph your moves so much, that you might as well just tell me everything you're about to try. Meanwhile, _poor little Ashley_ waits for her brave hero, who would rather fuck around with _me_ than accomplish his mission."

"You're a _danger_ to my mission!" The Agent yelled, throwing out another series of kicks. "You killed _Amanda_ … you killed _Cora_ … you infected _everyone_ onboard the _Starlight_!"

There was enough rage and power behind each kick to kill a man, but that ended up being a moot point, since the hooded man just continued to avoid every single one, almost like he really _did_ know every move Leon was about to make. Since Tobias's eyes weren't yellow, it meant he wasn't using his power, so all the Agent had to do was land one kick to the face and it would all be… suddenly the hooded man ducked around behind him, twisting Leon's arm behind his back and shoving him forward before he realized what was happening… right into one of the open prison cells.

 _Slam-clunk_! Just as he had done with El Garrador, Tobias had forced the Agent into a cell, and then slammed the door shut, locking him inside. Enraged at being tricked by this guy _again_ , Leon screamed while pulling on the door, but knowing damn well that it wouldn't open. Oh, great, now the hooded man was laughing at him, that was all he needed right now, but then Tobias did something unexpected… he reached into his jacket, and took out a very familiar looking utility belt… complete with the Agent's revolver and knife.

" _You killed Amanda, you killed Cora_." The hooded man mocked in that same high voice while looking at the utility belt. "Technically, _you_ did after me and Gillette infected them, but I'm willing to put that in the past and give this belt to you, even though you don't deserve it, if you can answer a simple question for me."

"Oh great, _more_ games form you." Leon scoffed, hating him but really needing that belt. "Fine, what is it?"

The question was one that felt like a knife being stabbed right into the Agent's heart, sending Leon back into a rage when Tobias asked it. That question was _'When I infected Cora and she became one of those red things, were you actually able to kill her, or did you just run away until she burned up on her own?'_. Kicking and pulling on the door again, the hooded man just shook his head before sliding the belt across the floor toward him, where it stopped a few feet longer than Leon's arms could get to.

"You don't want to work with me, that's fine." Tobias said as the Agent reached for it in futility. "Then you can stay here _nice and safe_ , while _I_ go find Ashley; believe it or not, kid, your safety is my _highest_ priority here, and you're just too _stupid_ to be left on your own. Oh, and I left you something out here in case you manage to get out."

Putting his scarf and hood back on, the hooded man walked out of the room without another word, leaving Leon to keep reaching for the utility belt, which he would need if he wanted to get out of the cell before Salazar or his guards came back.


	37. Chapter 37 Las Plagas

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Thirty Seven: Las Plagas**

"Come on." Leon said to himself, getting ready to make another attempt. "Come on, damn it."

He wasn't sure how much time had passed since the Merchant, er… since _Tobias Liquid_ had trapped him in the locked cell down in Salazar's dungeon, but the Agent wasn't the kind of man to just sit around when there was work to be done. Among the tools in the utility belt that had been left only a few feet from where he could reach it, there was a lock picking set that could hopefully be used to open this damn door, but as mentioned it was out of reach, so Leon had taken off one of his boots, holding it by the laces and trying to hook the boot itself around so it could be pulled toward him.

Unfortunately, this turned out to be a lot harder than expected, especially with how awkward it was to throw the thing from behind the bars, so after a dozen or so attempt he was still trapped, until it happened. Laughing when the toe of the boot actually caught on the part of the belt he was aiming for, the Agent had to control his excitement now, since the slightest shaking in his arm could dislodge the boot when he started pulling it toward him. Sweat was building up on Leon's forehead as he slowly, _slowly_ reeled in the belt, until… yes!

Finally able to reach through the bars and grab it, he reclaimed the belt and his boot, putting both on before he got up into a kneeling position, and now it was time to get out of the cage. His lock picking set wasn't anything special, just one tool for working the tumblers while the other was used for turning the core itself once it was ready, but like retrieving the belt, this was a lot harder than expected since he had to reach around and try to pick the lock backwards, which was a new experience.

 _Click_ , finally after he didn't even know how long, the lock opened, and Leon was free from the cage. Making a quick check of his equipment to make sure that the hooded man hadn't taken anything, the Agent was shocked to find that not only was everything there, but that the part that held his few remaining revolver bullets had been completely refilled. Now, why in the hell would Tobias have given him more ammo if he didn't expect him to be able to free himself… or _did_ he expect it? And what was all that stuff about Leon's safety being his _highest_ priority?

Nothing that guy did made any sense at all, but the things the Agent had going for him were that he was free, and now he was fully rearmed… even though it would have been nice to still have that rifle. There was no time to worry about anything else for the moment, since it was only a matter of time before Salazar sent someone down to check on the prisoners, and it was going to be a lot harder to find Ashley once the alarm had been raised. So Leon walked across what remained of the shattered glass, opening the same door that the hooded man had gone through, and then gasping at what he found there.

"So this is what he meant by _leaving something for me_?" The Agent asked, unable to stop himself from snickering a little. "Have you been like this the whole time?"

It was Luis; lying on his back on the stairs, hogtied, with his ropes attached to the stairway's guardrail so that there was no way he could free himself on his own. Serves him right for breaking the plan and getting those innocent villagers killed, but what was Leon supposed to do, just leave him there? Yes, this thought _did_ cross his mind, but as much as he wanted to leave the dark haired man for Salazar, there was a benefit to keeping him around. Apparently Luis was some kind of specialist when it came to the _Plaga_ , or whatever it was that himself and Ashley were infected with, so if anyone would know how to remove them, it was this guy.

"I'm glad you find my situation so amusing, Leon." The dark haired man said, trying to pull free and failing. "I don't suppose I could trouble you to help me loose?"

"What I outta do I beat your ass." The Agent replied, taking out his knife and starting to cut the ropes. "Thanks to you running off on your own, all three of us got captured, and all those people in the cells… those are on _you_ , Luis."

He wasn't actually gonna shoot the guy or hurt him unless he had to, but Luis seemed to get the idea that he better start making himself more useful, since he immediately started being a bit more open about his experience with the _Plaga_ , as well as the work that had been done there as they started back up the stairs. Apparently _Las Plagas_ were an ancient parasitic lifeform that was native to the mountainous part of Spain, which could infect any form of animal life, and then imitate it almost perfectly once the parasite was in control, using this camouflage to infect more hosts and propagate itself.

At some point a few hundred years ago, the man who owned this land had the parasites sealed away down in the old tunnels far below the castle, although records didn't explain exactly how this was done. The parasites have an aversion to light and heat, meaning that they had to remain completely hidden inside their hosts during daylight hours, or even around strong sources of artificial light, and this was also the case during the warmest months of the year, leaving them at their strongest only during the snow-covered winter months, nearly going dormant in the summer.

Leon supposed he was lucky to have taken this mission in the autumn, since this meant the infected villagers would have been even tougher in just a couple months, but it also helped him understand how the things had been sealed away in the first place. Luis theorized that the parasites must have retreated down into the old caves where it where it was dark and cold during the summer months, and then it would have been easy for Salazar's ancestor to collapse the entrances and seal them in, where they would have starved to death over time from lack of new hosts.

Fast forward a few hundred years to the current Castalian of these lands, a man who was nowhere near as popular with the people as his father and grandfathers had been… can't _imagine_ why… a lonely little man who had always picked on and shunned by his peers, which made him the perfect target for religious indoctrination. Osmund Saddler had come literally out of nowhere, spouting a bunch of flowery talk about the great _Los Iluminados_ cult, and how Salazar could become a great man by undoing the seal on the _Plagas_ , and restoring the religion to its rightful standing.

It was unknown if the cult ever had anything to do with the parasites back then, but the speech worked, and before long the little man was not only opening the ancient caved underneath the castle, but also bringing in dozens of workers from the villages in order to excavate the old fossils, being that they had so much experience with that gold mine. It was expected that there would be nothing but remains, and that a lengthy genetic program would have to be used to bring them back to life, but then something strange happened: The miners started showing signs of infection.

The spores of the original parasites must have gone into a kind of hibernation, and then infected the miners through the air while they worked, because soon after that a majority of the people became as they were now. As for Saddler and the other leadership of the region, something different happened to them; like the others they became significantly less human acting, but retained their minds and the largest majority of control over themselves, as if the parasites that infected them were more symbiotic than parasites.

Whatever the reason for this difference was, it allowed Saddler, Salazar, and Mendez to not only retain most of their humanity, but also to have complete control over any of the infected villagers that they encountered, sort of like hive Queens over ants, or something like that. However, some of the people remained uninfected, and that was a problem, since they weren't as willing to go along with Saddler's designs as everyone else, resulting in their, uh… _disposal_.

Luis had been brought in as a specialist in Biology and Chemistry, instructed by Saddler to find any potential weaknesses that the parasites contained so that they could be exploited… however, the purpose of finding these weaknesses was not to cure the people, but to actually make them _harder_ to cure, which was when the dark haired man tried to escape. Like all the others, he was forcibly infected with the _Plaga_ , but thankfully there hadn't been time to report _all_ of his findings before falling out with Saddler, so the robed man didn't know that there was still a way to remove them completely… so long as it was done before they matured.

"You'll _know_ when the egg has hatched." Luis explained as they reached the top of the stairs. "The emersion of the parasite into the central nervous system comes as such a shock to the body that convulsions are common, as is coughing up blood, and brief periods of losing consciousness."

"Yeah… that happened to me back at the lake." Leon replied, a knot forming in his stomach when he realized that the first stage of infection was well underway. "Okay, but you said there's a way to remove the parasites before the mature, so… how do we do that?"

The dark haired man claimed that the science behind it would take long to explain, but that the end result was a really simple one. At his laboratory, which unfortunately _wasn't_ inside the castle, there was a machine that Luis had constructed for just that purpose. The device itself was described as a big goofy looking spaceship thing with a chair in the center, and all an infected person had to do was sit down and hit the button. If the parasites were still eggs of nymphs, then the device offered an efficient, yet painful cure… however, if the parasites had matured and already taken over, the person's head was more likely to explode.

"Wonderful… but we've still got a couple days, right?" The Agent asked, carefully pushing the door open while keeping his revolver ready. "That's what Saddler said."

"Actually, that depends on the host." Luis replied, both of them stepping out into a much wider chamber. "You see, one of the things that the immature parasites feed on is adrenaline, so the more upset and active the host is, the less…

Interrupted in mid-sentence as his words became a startled gasp, Leon turned around to see that the dark haired man was just standing there… with a blade of some kind sticking out the front of his chest, causing a red stain to quickly spread out across the front of his shirt. Oh crap, no, it wasn't a blade… it was more like the stinger at the end of an insect's tail… a long, discolored, segmented tail that led down from Luis's back… and disappeared up into the elaborate robes of Osmund Saddler.


	38. Chapter 38 Saddler's Will

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Thirty Eight: Saddler's Will**

Crying out in agony as the spiked appendage lifted him just a few inches off his feet, blood was starting to run out from the corner of Luis's mouth, adding to the red stain that now completely soaked the dark haired man's shirt to the point where blood was starting to drip onto the castle's shiny floor. He was shaking now, beginning to convulse as the appendage lifted him up higher, but without the slightest of physical exertion being shown by the elaborately robed man.

"Wonderful to see you out and about, Mr. Kennedy." Saddler said, not affected at all by the state of Luis. "When Ramon told me about your predicament down in the dungeons, I thought to myself, I wonder if the _American_ can manage to free himself… and look at that, you _did_."

"Let him go, Saddler!" Leon ordered, aiming his revolver. "I said let him go!"

The Agent was about to start shooting, but then the spiked appendage suddenly started moving, swinging Luis forward, and then tossing him right into Leon so that they both ended up falling onto the floor. Briefly forgetting about the robed man while trying to get up, the Agent rolled the dark haired man over, attempting to help him, but… not having anything needed to give aid for a wound as big as the one he had. Luis tried to say something, but all that came out was a gurgling, choking sound, and then he was still, letting out one last breath as blood started to pool around him.

"It really _is_ too bad, you know." Saddler said, sounding almost disappointed for a second as the appendage retracted up into his robe. "Doctor Sera could have had a bright future among the faithful here, but alas… his faith faltered when he needed it most."

"You son of a bitch!" Leon yelled, picking up the revolver and aiming. "I'm gonna… gonna…

Just as the Agent was about to pull the trigger, the robed man casually held up his hand, and then it was like every single muscle in Leon's body tensed up to the point of excruciating pain, causing him to drop the weapon as he fell over sideways. It was like some outside force had completely hijacked his body, using the pain as a method of control that got ten times worse whenever the Agent tried to move, resulting in a scream of horrific agony that echoed throughout the room.

"Oh goody, the eggs have hatched." The robed man commented gleefully. "Already the _Plagas_ inside you are responding to my will, and in, oh, I don't know, a few days at most, you will be completely under my power… if you feel me, say _ahhhhhh_."

Suddenly the pain increased again, causing Leon to let out another scream, to which Saddler laughed a bit before walking away. As soon as the elaborately robed man had vanished through another door, the pain gripping the Agent's body vanished just as quickly, leaving him lying there in an attempt to catch his breath. Although the pain itself was gone, the lingering soreness in Leon's muscles was still around to remind him of it, making simple actions like standing up a lot more difficult than they should have been.

Poor Luis, the Agent thought as he leaned on a stone pillar to keep his balance, he might not have been the best of men, but… but no one deserved to die like that, especially after all they had gone through to get that far. Another thing that Leon was worried about was a sudden ambush once he was helpless, but no one came, so… was Saddler still _evaluating_ him like they had talked about back at the church? Either way, he was sure that the alarm was going to be sounded at any moment, so the Agent had to find Ashley quick… and there wasn't time to do anything about Luis's body, either.

They were gonna pay for all this, Leon thought as he picked up the revolver and started moving. Saddler, Salazar, Mendez… well, Mendez had already paid for it, so was it just those two left who were running the show now? All right, gotta get focused, Leon… gotta find where they took Ashley, but… but there were several doors in this large room, so which one should he try? This area looked more like some kind of decorative area, with large paintings on the walls, and white marble statues, but… nothing to tell him which way the young woman was taken.

He could only imagine Tobias coming through there a few minutes before he did, and then finding some random, stupid clue like a speck of dirt that didn't come from this side of the lake, or something dumb like that. Of course, with the Agent's luck, that stupid clue would probably lead the hooded man right to Ashley, but unfortunately for all of Leon's many skills, tracking and detective work were not among them… meaning that he was gonna have to do this the hard way.

" _Eenie-meenie-miney-moe_." He whispered, pointing to a different door with every word. " _Catch a tiger by the toe, if he hollers let him go, eenie-meenie-miney-moe_."

With his finger stopping at one of the smaller side doors, the Agent prepared to move on, although saddened that he had to just leave Luis's body there for the time being, but making sure to remind himself that it would be recovered when this was all over. Lightning flashed through the room's windows, followed by a much louder crash of thunder just as he was opening the door he had chosen, startling him by both the noise and the sudden spray of water when he realized that it led back outside.

This whole castle seemed to set on top of some kind of plateau, probably a former mountain where the ancient parasites hibernated, so the drawbridge was really the only way in and out… not that he could see it from there. Off more to the side of the castle he guessed, the Agent found himself on a kind of partially covered walkway. Made of stone like the rest of the place, and with a short guardrail, which was nice to have because of how slippery the stone floor was thanks to the rain, the awning did nothing to block the sideways falling water.

So far there were no other doors that he could see form there, making Leon think that maybe he should go back and try a different one, but somehow he just _knew_ that if he went back, than this walkway was gonna magically lead him right to Ashley. Stepping carefully so as not to slip, the Agent started down the walkway, feeling genuinely grateful for the single bulb fixtures that lit the way, because it had gotten dark as hell outside with the storm worsening. There wasn't a lot of light, but enough to see that some serious money must have been put into this place, since even out there on the walkway there were elaborate fountains and decorative benches... and _people_.

Nearly slipping as he ducked back around a corner he had just come around, it was only because of the most recent lightning flash that he had seen the robed cultists there at all, each just standing there as if completely indifferent to the rain that was completely soaking them. There were three of them that he could see, all in those same black robes, but… but hey, none of them were facing his direction, so was it possible for him to be able to sneak past them without fighting at all?

Taking advantage of the same darkness that concealed them, Leon crouched down into a squatting position, and slowly came around the corner so that he was skirting along the edge of the wall. Except for while under the cone of light from the one fixture on this wall section, the Agent was completely concealed visually, with the rain and thunder muffling his footsteps as well. So far so good; his goal was to reach the stone stairs that were on the other side of this section, past another fountain where the cultists were standing, and as long as he was able to keep skirting along the wall, there was no way they were going to hear or see him.

Well, one thing he could be sure of was that Tobias hadn't come through there, otherwise he had a feeling that the cultists would have been dead, or at least with a few bones broken. This meant that Leon had probably taken the wrong path, but there was nothing he could do about that now, so he just kept moving. _Yes_! Reaching the stairs without incident, the Agent stayed in that same crouched position as he started upwards, which was slightly more difficult to do, not to mention slower since the soreness hadn't quite left yet… but just a couple more stairs… and...

" _Que mierda_?!" Another cultist asked, startled when Leon walked right into him at the top of the stairs. " _Lo encon_ …

Getting a lot louder with those last words as if trying to call out to the others, the Agent stopped him by punching the cultist in the groin, and using the low center of his squatting position to tackle him while he was stunned. With the others so close, it was too dangerous to risk shooting this guy, so once he was pinned down, Leon took out his knife and stuck it between the cultist's ribs just as he was trying to call out again. Again and again he stabbed the robed man, jamming his elbow into the man's discolored neck to keep him pinned, but then it was Leon's turn to be surprised when the cultist's whole head collapsed like a hollow melon, replaced by a familiar looking purplish growth.

Crying out when its bladed tendril sliced across his shoulder, the Agent rolled off and away from the possessed cultist as it slowly got to its feet, and now there was no way to kill it without making a lot of noise… or was there? Scrambling back to avoid another swing of its blade, the monster slowly turned toward him, slashing out with the tendril again, but in an unexpected move, Leon ducked underneath it while rushing forward. Colliding with the abomination, the growth let out a kind of inhuman shrieking sound as it was pushed over the guardrail, a sound that was thankfully muffled by the thunder as it vanished down into the darkness.

Taking out his revolver while catching his breath, Leon sighed with relief when he saw that the other cultists hadn't been alerted, so he turned away from them, continuing to follow the slippery walkway in the hopes that it would lead him to Ashley.


	39. Chapter 39 Ghost of Raccoon City

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Thirty Nine: Ghost of Raccoon City**

As Leon continued his way around the side of the castle, it felt like this walkway was going to circumnavigate the entire building before giving him a way back inside, and the perpetually falling rain wasn't making it any easier. The good news was that there weren't that many cultists wandering around, at least not enough to make it impossible to avoid their notice, allowing him to continue onward relatively unobstructed until the scenery changed completely after rounding the next tower.

There was more light in this place, allowing the Agent to see that besides the walkway, there was a partially enclosed lower platform that looked like someone's private courtyard. With plenty of those same old fashioned light fixtures down below, he could see that there were plenty of plants and hedges, but all planted and shaped together to form one of those giant mazes that he used to see behind the mansions on _Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous_ back when he was a kid. Heh… it was funny that his childhood self would have loved the opportunity to wander around in such a place, but this boyhood fantasy was interrupted by a beeping sound… coming from his _communicator_!

"Hunnigan, thank God!" Leon exclaimed, backing up against the wall in an attempt to keep the device dry. "I haven't been able to get to the roof yet, but the whole mission's gone bad, and I need backup _now_!"

" _Oh, I am really sorry to hear that, Senor Kennedy_." Salazar's voice replied as the little man's face appeared on the screen. " _But you know, I'm standing in the dungeon right now, and there's lots of dead people around here, but you aren't one of them, so you can't be doing too badly, am I right_?"

Before the Agent could respond, the little man's tone became enraged, with him demanding to know how in the fuck Leon was able to pull off such an escape, only to grit his teeth in anger when the Agent replied with his own question, which was how Salazar had managed to get his signal. The little man made a brief reference to jacking the line, which probably meant that he had no idea how it was done, since hacking into a government satellite and intercepting a scrambled signal was a lot more complicated than picking up the second receiver of a house phone to listen in.

" _Tell me how you got yourself out of that cell_!" Salazar yelled again, his discolored cheeks turning slightly red with anger. " _El Garrador was one of a kind, and you locked him in a cage and shot him in the ears, you… you monster! Where did you even get a second gun_?!"

Leon was about to start gloating, but then he stopped when he realized something important: The little man seemed to think that the Agent had done everything on his own, so… so was anyone from the cult even aware of Tobias's presence? Maybe, since all of the villagers who had seen him were dead, so maybe… maybe if Leon could keep Salazar busy for long enough, the hooded man could free Ashley without anyone realizing. Leon would have to be careful what he said, though… had to keep the little man thinking that he was alone.

"Haven't you realized it yet, _Ramon_?" The Agent asked with a smile that was meant to anger him. "The President sent me to rescue Ashley because I'm the best, and if you know what's good for you, you'll give up and just let the girl go home."

" _I'll tell you what, Leon_." Salazar replied. " _The same process that lets us talk is also stopping anyone from seeing your location, so why don't you tell me where you are, and we can talk about it face to face, yes_?"

Continuing to enrage the little man, Leon responded with _sure, I'm over at_ , before suddenly turning off the communicator as if he were hanging up a telephone. Okay, the patrols of cultists were sure to start increasing now, so he had to keep moving… too bad there was no time to waste down in that hedge maze. Continuing on right past the enclosed courtyard, it seemed that luck was finally on the Agent's side, since right after passing the stone stairs to go down into the lower platform, there was an elaborate set of double doors. It was the only entrance he had seen, so Leon tried the handle… finding it unlocked.

 _Squeak_ , the hinges needed a bit of oil as he pushed the door open, finding himself walking into what looked like a very lavish bedroom. There was no one in sight, so he closed the door and locked it once he was inside, taking a moment to look around at his new surroundings before taking another step. Heavy curtains were closed over the windows, and the place was lit up by a couple expensive looking lamps that sat on the equally expensive looking stained wood furniture… but the most eye-catching feature of this room was the bed.

Bigger than a _California King_ , and topped with soft pillows underneath a set of heavy, warm blankets, this was the first time that Leon realized how tired he was, since the only rest he had gotten in the past several hours were those two times he had been knocked unconscious in the village. It was so tempting to just lie down and take a short nap, especially after moving forward and touching the soft, thick blankets… but these plans were quickly dashed when the Agent felt something else… the unmistakable sensation of a gun barrel being pressed into his back.

"Move or call out, and you _die_." A shaky, yet familiar female voice warned. "Now… are you alone? Answer me, _are… you… alone_?"

"Yeah, I'm alone." Leon replied, tensing up his body for the next move. "So, you gonna tell me your name… or do I have to guess? Hey, I know, you're…

Using the broken sentence as a distraction, the Agent quickly spun around, using one hand to knock the weapon from his assailant's grasp, and the other to grab his holstered revolver… only to stop after getting a good look at who was standing there. She wore a kind of black combat suit, but none of the weapons this dark haired woman was carrying seemed to help her in this situation, since instead of trying to counter what Leon had just done, she kind of… fell sideways, out of breath as she caught herself on the nearby dresser… and then he noticed what condition she was in.

There were deep rope-burns on her neck and wrists, as if she had been restrained recently, as well as some bruises forming on the visible parts of her skin, a busted lip, and a black-eye forming underneath the yellow tinted sunglasses that she was wearing. Apparently, the dark haired woman was having just as rough of a time around here as he was, possibly worse, but… but it was her. Even blemished, her beautiful face was the same one that Leon had seen back in Raccoon City, but… the last time he had seen her she was falling to her death… so what the hell was she doing in Spain?

"A… Ada?!" The Agent exclaimed, unable to contain his shock. "Oh my God, Ada Wong, is that _really_ you?!

She started to stand up, attempting to maintain that same air of confidence and mystery that had captivated him in 1998, but instead the dark haired woman cried out in agony when her leg gave out, and she didn't resist when Leon rushed forward to catch her. Not only did she have cuts and bruises, but Ada was also shaking, not a seizure or anything, but more like having been brought to the point of extreme exhausted and pain tolerance… man, someone had worked her over _real_ good.

"Don't let him find me!" She said weakly as her eyes started swimming around. "Please… don't let him find me… Leon… help."

Ada was in real bad shape, but most of her wounds looked like surface damage, so what she probably needed was water and rest more than anything… well, at least there was a convenient place to set her down. She weighed almost nothing, so it was easy for the Agent to pick Ada up, and then lay her down on the overly large bed, but then helping her stay sitting up long enough for her to get a drink from the water that was left inside of his canteen. It was a good idea for people who were potentially dehydrated to sip water slowly, but there was no convincing _her_ of that, as she gulped it down.

"Thank you, Leon." Ada said, starting to drift off now as she laid back. "Leon… always… so… noble."

In a moment the dark haired woman was asleep, and although the Agent wanted to save it in case he got really banged up again, there was one dose of morphine left from what he had been given by Tobias… so hopefully it would help Ada recover when he gave it to her instead. This was… this was just unreal… he had watched her fall from a collapsing bridge into a seemingly bottomless pit, and yet… yet there she was. Granted, they hadn't ended things too well back in Raccoon City, with the whole her trying to shoot him over the G Virus sample… but it was still good to see her.

So… Leon had watched Tobias Liquid die onboard the Starlight, only to have him reappear in Spain during the most important mission of his career… and Leon had _also_ watched Ada Wong die underneath Raccoon City, only to have her reappear in Spain during the most important mission of his career. Jesus, was _anyone_ really dead… what, were William Birkin and Gillette Liquid going to come walking into the room at any moment? He certainly hoped not, but it wouldn't have been surprising with the way things were happening around him.

As much as the Agent wanted to keep looking for Ashley, there was no way he was going to leave the dark haired woman alone in her current condition, so… so the President's daughter was just going to have to wait. Hell, if old Graham had a problem with that, well, then maybe he should have sent a little backup in for his Agents when they needed it, huh? Hopefully, she wouldn't be asleep for too long, but it probably wasn't gonna be a minute long micro-nap either, so Leon got comfortable, sitting down on one of the more comfortable looking chairs where he could see both the doors and windows of the room… still unable to believe that Ada Wong had somehow come back from the dead.


	40. Chapter 40 Ashley's Run

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Forty: Ashley's Run**

"Help!" Ashley Graham yelled, ponding her fist against the thick wooden door. "Let me out of here! Leon, help!"

After being separated from her rescuer back at the ballroom where they had met Salazar, the young woman had been taken down a different corridor, through part of the castle that looked more like an art gallery than anything else. Passing through one door was like entering a whole different place; instead of rough stone, the walls were painted and the floor was covered with expensive looking tile. Even the light fixtures were a little upgraded, giving the whole place a bit more light, but as Ashley looked around at the many paintings and portraits, she realized that most of them were the same.

A few were of people who looked like Salazar, only taller and better looking, so probably his ancestors, there were also some paintings of scenes around the village like the old church and the lake, as well as a lot, and I mean _a lot_ of paintings of that Saddler guy. Urged forward by one of those robed guardians, or whatever they were, after stopping for too long, the young woman nearly tripped on the hand-woven red area rugs that covered large sections of the corridors, and that was when she noticed how many of those deranged cultists were around.

While she and Leon had only encountered a few on the way into the building, the freaks were _everywhere_ now that Ashley was deeper into the structure. They seemed to be just kind of casually wandering around, unlike the villagers who had actually been going about their daily lives until needed to attack intruders or something, so were the cultists that lived in this place actually members of a higher social class or something? Did mentalities like that even exist for people who had been infected by… whatever the hell it was Saddler put inside her and Leon?

Eventually being moved past the gallery, and through another door into an area that looked like the rest of the castle again, the young woman was moved down one last corridor, before being roughly pushed into what looked like an old storage room. Not that there was much to be stored in there except for a partially broken wooden crate and some leftover straw on the ground from whatever had been in there before, but apparently Ashley was going to have lots of time to explore the place when the heavy wooden door slammed shut behind her with an echoing bam!

"Hey!" She called, running over to it and pounding her fist. "Let me out! Leon, help!"

"Will you shut your God damn mouth for a second?!" A familiar voice ordered, making her gasp and turn around. "Or do you somehow _like_ the idea of spending the next few days locked in there?"

The voice didn't belong to Leon, but it was really familiar, but there was no one inside the room when the young woman looked around. The walls were solid, with no windows to be seen, and only a single light fixture mounted on the wall opposite the door, so where had the voice come from? Then she heard it, the sound of someone clearing his throat, followed by rapidly snapping their fingers until Ashley realized that it was coming from _above_ her… where someone was looking down at her through a small kind of floor drain cover or something.

Having to squint to see who it was, along with putting her hand up to block the light from the nearby fixture, the young woman was surprised to see that it was that hooded guy who had saved them back at the barn when Chief Mendez attacked. Of course, the first thing Ashley thought of to say was asking him where Leon was, to which the Merchant responded by laughing. Well, she supposed that it _was_ a good thing that one of the good guys managed to find her, but the Agent made her feel safe, especially when he held her hand, while this guy… although handy to have around, just felt… he just felt wrong to her.

"Sweetheart, if you're waiting for Leon to save you, it's gonna be a while." He explained with that ridiculous cockney accent. "He's a good man; brave, loyal, and trustworthy… but he's got the intuition of a dead carp, and couldn't track a wet dog across the carpet."

Even though the young woman had only just met the Agent a few hours before, she really liked him, and found herself getting visibly upset when the hooded man criticized him. In fact, she was about to start chewing him out, but was stopped when he dropped a small package down into the storage room through the drain cover. The Merchant went on to explain that there were too many cultists around for him to get close enough to free her without sounding the alarm, but what he could do was create a distraction so that Ashley could escape… only catch was that she was going to have to open the door herself.

Moving over to the center of the room while he spoke, the young woman picked up the package, discovering that it was a leather-bound kit that contained several metal strips with ends that kind of looked like keys, as well as a thicker piece of metal that might have been for a different purpose. As she examined the contents, the hooded man made a comment about dealing in _exactly what was needed at the time_ , before bluntly informing her that she was going to have to use that _lock-picking kit_ to open the door.

"Wait, you want me to… pick a lock?" The young woman asked with genuine surprise in her eyes, taking a quick glance at the door. "Are you _serious_ right now?"

"Sure, and an old style one like that should be easy." The Merchant replied, pointing toward the kit now. "All you gotta do is use the keys to lift the lock's tumblers one at a time until you got'em all, then use that thicker bar down there to turn the latch, and you're free. Go on, now."

This was ridiculous, Ashley thought as she turned toward the door and walked forward, how could that guy expect her to be able to pick a lock? She was _the President's daughter_ , not some criminal from down on _the east side_ , or whatever, so what had she done to make him think she was that kind of girl? The young woman had no criminal record whatsoever, didn't use drugs or drink as a kid, and aside from an unfortunate time in Algebra Class, she maintained a 4.0 GPA in college. Was it the fact that she dyed her hair blonde, making her look like some kind of rebel?

"Hey, _Hostage Barbie_ , hurry it up down there!" The hooded man ordered again, making her jump. "And remember to stay quiet once you get the door open, or else my distraction is gonna be worth about as much as a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest."

Well, here goes nothing, the young woman thought as she put the first _key_ into the lock, feeling around for whatever these _tumbler_ things were. Of course, there didn't seem to be much inside of the keyhole at all, just one or two large bumps that could be felt, but… the key slips weren't strong enough to manipulate them. The keyhole was big enough to use the tension bar, and it was a lot thicker than the key slips… feeling for those same bumps, and then hearing a soft _click_ when something inside the door itself moved.

"I… did it?" Ashley asked with surprise when the latch turned. "Hey, I did it!"

"Good job, now shut up again." The Merchant ordered, looking around his immediate area. "All right, I'm gonna make some noise, and here's what I need you to do: Move slowly, stay in the shadows, and follow the path to the right as good as you can… keep going right from there and it'll bring you right to me. Wait for the signal."

Off the top of her head, the young woman didn't know what the signal was, but then the answer came to her when she heard two quick rumbling of thunder from above. Wait a second, she thought while the guards outside could be heard yelling and running around, that wasn't thunder, it was _gun shots_. _Bang_! _Bang_! Muffled outcries of pain were heard through the door as the shooting continued, and then there were rapidly fading footsteps as if the guards were chasing him… now was her chance.

Turning the latch as quietly as she could, Ashley hoped that the commotion would cover the sound of the rusty hinges as the door was pushed open… and it seemed to, since no one was there to bother her when she looked out into the corridor. Okay, she thought to herself as she left the room, stay quiet, move slowly, and go to the… oh, crap, was it the left or the right? Damn it, she couldn't remember, but she knew that the distraction wasn't going to last forever, so after making a quick decision, the young woman rounded a corner to the left… only to run right into Ramon Salazar.

Apparently he was just as surprised to see her as she was to see him, but neither were able to stop from colliding with the other, causing them both to fall down to the floor. Ashley tried to crawl away, but the little man grabbed her foot, causing her to turn back around and slap him in the face, to which he responded by slapping back at her. Now slapping wildly at each other, the two of them each being wildly unsuccessful at hitting each other while trying to stop each other's arms as well, eventually the robed guardian standing behind him intervened, grabbing the young woman by the head and lifting her up like it had done before.

"You are _very_ lucky he stopped me." Salazar said as both of them caught their breath. "Now, how in the hell did you manage to get yourself out of that room and… and what is _that_ in your hand?"

Snatching the lock-picking kit from her other hand, the little man gasped when he realized what he was holding, with his first instinct to demand to know where she had hidden it when they searched her. Before she could even say anything, Salazar growled angrily after looking up at the floor drain, and then finally yelling angrily that _Leon_ must have given it to her. That explained the gunshots and commotion that had been hard a few moments before, but the little man was _very_ happy to report that _the crafty Senor Kennedy's_ plans had been foiled by a superior mind.

"Your boyfriend will be caught shortly." Salazar said with a smirk. "But just to make sure you don't get any more ideas about escaping in the meantime, I think I'm going to keep you close to me for a while… bring her."

The Castalian turned around, heading back toward the more populated areas of the castle, and since the young woman was being carried by her head so that her feet didn't touch the ground, there wasn't really a lot she could do about it. She had messed up the escape plan, and the Merchant had been chased away by the cultists… now leaving Leon as her last hope of being rescued.


	41. Chapter 41 One Battle at a Time

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Forty One: One Battle at a Time**

How long had passes since the unexpected reunion with Ada, Leon wondered while sitting on the chair across from the bed where the dark haired woman was asleep? He wasn't sure, maybe an hour or so, but the rain was still falling outside, and none of the cultists had come searching for them so far, which was a good thing. Well, Salazar _had_ said that he couldn't see the Agent's location, so was it possible that the little man had simply gotten his people to start searching on the wrong side of the castle?

Either way, it was nice to actually have a break from the constant chaos that had been going on since entering the village that morning… so nice and so relaxing in fact… that Leon found his own eyes getting heavy… until Ada suddenly gasped loudly while sitting up, causing him to gasp and jump a little in the chair as well. He could tell she was still in pain from all her injuries, since the dark haired woman had started to jump out of bed immediately, only to have to stop while groaning and holding her stomach.

"Ada, hold on a second." The Agent said, getting up and walking over to her. "You're hurt, you need to take it easy for a while… what… I mean what happened to you?"

"You might've not noticed, Leon, but things are a little crazy out there." She calmly replied, limping a bit to walk past him in a refusal of his offer to help. "You can't take on a mission like this without expecting to run into a little trouble, and…

Gasping again when her leg gave out, the Agent was right there to catch her, being there for the dark haired woman to lean on while clarifying his previous question. Yes, he was concerned with her newest injuries and wanted to know how they were inflicted, but the question itself was meant more for what happened to her after the last time they had seen each other back in 1998. Although certainly vague, Ada replied that the landing after her fall from the bridge was a lot softer than expected, and that she had managed to find another way out before William Birkin's lab exploded.

"We both kind of had our hands full from then on, now didn't we?" She continued, stepping away from him again. "I had my mission to complete, and you had that pretty girl I saw you with… you know, I expected you and her to be a thing after that… adopt Birkin's kid… white picket fence, and all… well, it's been fun catching up, Leon, but I have to leave."

She walked right over to where her pistol and tinted glasses were, picking up the weapon first and checking the clip to make sure that it was still loaded. Groaning again as she leaned against the table the items had been set on, the Agent couldn't help but hear Tobias's words about her echoing in his mind… this caused Leon to experience two emotions, one right on top of the other: The first one was a flash of anger that came with the possibility that the hooded man had been the one who hurt her… but the other was a moment of concern when he realized that he might have been telling the truth about her, too.

"Ada, I can't stop you from leaving." Leon said, making her look back toward him. "But I just need to know if it's true… Ada, are you working with Wesker?"

Instead of answering right away, the dark haired woman turned toward him so quickly that her glasses were knocked off the table onto the floor between them, while her pistol was suddenly aimed right at the Agent's face. Instead of drawing his revolver in response, Leon simply put up his hands to show that he wasn't trying to hurt her or anything, but the sudden hardness in Ada's eyes was something he hadn't seen since she had been ready to shoot him over the G-Virus back in Raccoon City.

"Now, _who_ would have told you something like that?" The dark haired woman asked, stepping back toward the door. "Let me give you some advice, Leon… don't let him get what he wants, no matter what it is, or you'll regret it… see you around."

Suddenly she closed her eyes and looked away, confusing the Agent until her tinted glasses on the floor made a beeping sound before erupting in a flash of light. Now having to shut his own eyes, groaning in pain as he stumbled backwards onto the bed, it took several seconds of blinking and rubbing his eyes before Leon's vision became clear again, but when it did he was alone. Ada was gone, apparently having escaped back out into the storm, and as much as he wanted to search for the dark haired woman, the Agent still had his own mission to accomplish.

Hell, apparently Ada could take care of herself just fine, he thought while turning toward the bedroom's other door… after all, she had been doing well so far for the past six years without his help, so Leon was sure she knew what she was doing… so then why did he still feel so awful about having to leave her out there on her own? God, the most frustrating part of this whole mission was that no matter how many questions about it were answered, two more always seemed to pop up in their place.

What the hell was Ada doing there in the first place? If Tobias had really been the one who she was afraid of finding her again, then what the hell did he even want with her? Did all of this have anything to do with Ashley and Saddler's Los Iluminados cult, or was it something completely separate that the Agent was only getting fragments of? Jesus fucking Christ, why couldn't anything with these people just ever be simple? Why did there always have to be some kind of strange conspiracy going on behind the scenes, when it should have all been so simple?

For Leon Raccoon City had been simple; kill the zombies, save the girls, escape the nightmare, right? But for Ada it had been some kind of 007 nonsense about stealing the G-Virus sample and giving it to Umbrella, or whoever… as if the whole city wanting them dead wasn't enough for her or something. Same thing onboard the Starlight; find evidence of illegal materials transport, bust the bad guys, return home heroes. But for Tobias it had been about recapturing a parasitic BOW, and he had been willing to literally infect everyone onboard that ship with his wife's _C-Spores_ in order to do it.

 _Enough_! It took a lot of willpower to bring his own thoughts back to the matter at hand, and Leon knew that he would never succeed in his own mission if he spent all his time worrying about what everyone else was doing. He had survived Raccoon City and the Starlight by keeping it simple, so that was what he was going to do here as well; kill the monsters, save the girl, return home a hero. Whatever Ada and Tobias were up to was going to have to wait, at least until he saw either one of them again, which could have been at any time with the way things had been going.

Taking out his revolver and keeping it ready while turning the latch on the next door, the Agent quietly stepped out into a long, narrow corridor that was… surprisingly bare. The rest of the castle had been big and open, decorated with statues and paintings and whatnot, but this place was more like a service tunnel. Rounded where the walls met the ceiling, and not illuminated by anything at all, the Agent was forced to take out his compact flashlight. The beam was enough to light up the whole place, but its white color and slight shaking from the Agent's hands made it all seem even more creepy than usual.

Thankfully this corridor didn't last very long, ending at a dusty wooden door that opened up into a larger chamber that looked like a long forgotten storage area. There was heavy dust and cobwebs on the old crates and stored paintings, but then he noticed something strange: Although everything in this place was dusty and neglected, there was a suit of armor on display in the center of the room that was in much better condition. It wasn't shiny or anything, not there was no dust at all on the metal, and stranger still were the fresh footprints that led right to where it was standing now with…

"Shit!" The Agent exclaimed, having to awkwardly stumble backwards to avoid the sudden upward swing of the battle-axe the armor was holding. "Holy shit!"

 _Clang-clang-clang-clang_! Not only was this suit of armor moving so that the room echoed with each hit of its steel joints, but it quickly turned the upward swing of the axe into a downward one, forcing Leon to have to dive sideways so that the weapon cut one of the wooden crates in half instead. _Bang! Bang!_ Taking out his revolver, and scooting back across the dusty floor while pulling the trigger, the bullets simply bounced off the metal armor, denting it with each hit, but not causing any actual damage to… whatever was inside.

Thankfully the armored knight was slow, probably thanks to both the weight and poor range of motion of the metal it was wearing, so there was time to get up and try to come up with an actual plan, unlike when fighting Salvador. Okay, shooting it wasn't an option, nor was stabbing it, since there were no visible holes in the armor, at least none that would do him any good against _this_ opponent, so what was he supposed to do, just push the thing down and run away as if he were dealing with a schoolyard bully.

Granted, the Agent's strategies for dealing with mean children when he was a kid hadn't been too effective, but maybe in this case it was just ridiculous enough to work. So he let the knight get closer, moving out of the way when it swung the axe sideways, and then shoving the monster backwards as hard as he could. _CRASH_! Holy shit it worked, Leon thought once the noise stopped echoing, he had waited until it was the most off-balance it could get, and then the knight had been unable to stop itself from falling down… where it became like a big turtle that had been flipped over.

Unable to stop himself from laughing at this sight, the Agent took out his communicator, not attempting to call Hunnigan, but to simply use the device's camera feature to capture the moment while the knight flopped around like _ED-209_ after it had fallen down the stairs in that movie _Robocop_. Try as it might, the monster was unable to right itself, so the Agent moved on, quickly finding the next door, and walking through it into yet another narrow corridor like the last one… but wait… there was light coming from way up ahead, along with muffled voices as he approached what he hoped was the last door.


	42. Chapter 42 The Well

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Forty Two: The Well**

After reaching the end of the corridor, Leon listened with his ear against the door, only to hear a familiar voice coming from the other side. Clearly it belonged to Salazar, but from where the Agent was, there was no way to see what was happening without opening the door, so he really took his time about turning the latch. Surprisingly, this door made hardly any noise at all as it was pushed open, probably since the other side of it, which also contained the hinges, were well maintained and oiled, allowing Leon to enter the large chamber undetected.

Taking advantage of the fact that he was using a small side door that was mostly hidden in the shadow of a large stone pillar, the Agent stepped out into an elaborately decorated throne room where lightning could be seen shining in through the stained glass windows, there were expensive looking carpets on the floor along with tapestries on the walls, and as for the tile floor itself, it was damn near as shiny as if he were walking on a mirror. A large circular crest, probably that of the Salazar family, had been incorporated into the floor design at the center of the room, and then there was the throne itself.

Made of wood, but trimmed in gold, and being far too large for its pint-size occupant, the castle's throne sat at the top of a really wide four-step staircase to make it higher than the rest of the room all together, with Salazar himself leaning back in the chair as if he owned the place. Okay, he actually _did_ own the place, but that didn't give him an excuse to be such a little asshole… nor did it give him the right to keep Ashley prisoner right next to him.

The President's daughter was on her knees next to the throne, with hands bound behind her back, and one of the little man's bodyguards, the one in the black robe standing next to her, with its bladed spear held at a kind of chopping position in front of her neck. No one seemed to be aware of Leon's presence yet, giving him time to come up with some options, beginning with the fact that he couldn't just start shooting. Holstering his revolver, the Agent knew that he was no match for the robed guardian monster in a stand up fight, but maybe if he waited until the little man's attention was on something else, he could…

Suddenly Leon's thoughts were interrupted when something latched onto the back of his head from behind, with him not realizing that it was the missing red robed guardian's clawed hand, until it had already lifted him up into the air to be taken out into the open. He kicked and flailed around, but there was nothing he could do to stop himself from being taken toward the throne, where a shocked Salazar couldn't help gasping when he saw the Agent get dropped right onto the emblem on the floor.

"Ah, welcome back, Senor Kennedy." The little man said, quickly regaining his composure as the guardian took a position next to Ashley, mirroring the other one's stance. "I knew it was only a matter of time before we found you, since you couldn't resist helping her get out of her cell… as you can see, your attempt to lure us away with your pistol didn't work."

"Well then… I guess you're pretty sharp for such an _old man_ , aren't you?" The Agent replied, trying to figure out how the hell he was gonna get out of this one. "Look, Salazar, I'm pretty sure that I could shoot you in the head a few times before your guards get to me, but then we would just _both_ be dead, and I don't think either of us wants that… so why don't you just let me and Ashley walk out of here, huh?"

Ignoring most of what Leon was saying, the Castilian seemed more concerned with letting him know that he was only twenty years old… a fact that the Agent found hard to believe, based on the little man's face. He then resumed the previous rant from down in the dungeons, where he couldn't believe that _Senor Saddler_ saw any potential in an _Americano_ fool like Leon, but also restating the fact that he was more than willing to simply deal with the threat himself. The Agent expected the robed guardians to attack right there, but instead the smirk on Salazar's face just got bigger while… nothing happened at all.

"So, how does that sound, Senor Kennedy?" The little man asked, sitting up a little straighter. "I'll give you a choice: Would you rather me have my guards rip your pathetic body to pieces… or should I just crush you like the little worm you are, myself?"

"Don't worry, Leon, he fights like a girl!" Ashley called out. "You can take him!"

Salazar turned and screamed something to her in Spanish that made the young woman be quiet, before pressing a hidden button underneath the armrest of his throne. There was a soft _click_ just before the decorative candles around the room flickered as a result to the sudden moving of air, and then Leon cried out in surprise when the family emblem he was standing on split down the middle, each half swinging downward like a trapdoor, and sending him falling down into the waiting darkness while Ashley screamed.

More out of reflex than anything, the Agent did the only thing he could think of, which was to reach for the small grappling hook that he had tried to escape from _El Gigante_ with earlier, but hopefully this time he would have more success. After all, this deep, rounded hole wasn't going to go on forever, so Leon desperately tossed the grapnel, letting out a sigh of relief when it locked onto some of the hole's wooden framework… only to get the wind knocked out of him when this caused the Agent to swing hard into the wall.

 _Creak… pop_ , the old, rotted wood that made the framing for this hole was not quite as well maintained as the rest of the throne room, so the hook was ripped out of its catch after a few seconds of supporting the Agent's weight. Now falling again, this trip was over a lot faster than he expected, landing into some shallow water after only a couple more seconds with a loud splash, and taking a minute for him to be able to stand up after the shock wore off. Thankfully, the water was only up to his waist but there was no light at all down there, so he took out the compact flashlight… and gasped at what he saw.

It was a good thing that he had used the hook when he did, since in the flashlight's narrow beam, he could see that the whole center of the bottom of the hole was filled with tall, thick wooden spikes that were nearly as big around as small trees. Some of them had been used, too, making Leon gasp when he saw that there were some cultists and even a few villagers impaled on them… must have been more of the unfortunate people who were killed for not being compatible with the parasite.

Okay, the good news first… the good news was that he was _alive_ at the bottom of the hole, and _not_ impaled on the spikes… but now how was he gonna get out of there. A way out had to exist, or else how in the hell did the spiked pit get built in the first place? So far there was no exit in sight, not that it was easy to see with such a tiny light beam while all these spikes were in the way, but then a noise made him jump a little… it was the sound of his communicator beeping. The Agent knew he shouldn't answer it, but he wanted to see the look on the little man's face when it was discovered that he was still alive.

"Hey, Salazar… you _missed_." Leon said, still trying to catch his breath from the fall. "So, let me ask you; were you _born_ a complete failure at everything you do, or was it a gradual process?"

" _Yes, keep talking, Senor Kennedy_." Salazar replied after the surprise faded from his face. " _Live boldly, even if it is only for a few minutes, yes? Now, I'm sorry that I won't be able to watch your painful demise, but I'm taking the girl to a special place where she can properly be inducted into our divine religious order… don't worry, I'm sending my right hand to take care of you_."

Maybe the little man didn't have a sense of humor, or maybe he was just not used to people politely telling him to go fuck himself when he wanted something, but as soon as the Agent made a sarcastic remark about Salazar's hand coming off, the Castalian screamed in rage before the signal went to static. So what… had he been so mad that he tossed his own communicator down and broken it? If so, then what a little wimp… but what had he meant back in the throne room when he talked about Leon managing to free Ashley from her cell?

Oh well, it wasn't like he could just call the little man up and ask him, not anymore, so the Agent returned to the task of trying to find a way out of that well, or whatever this place was supposed to be. He assumed that it was a well, from the water at the bottom, along with the natural cave around it, but again if the spikes had been added later, and the water could get in and out, then there had to be a… oh, _there_ it was. Partially hidden in the rock wall, there was a metal door that was so heavily coated with rust that he hadn't seen it at first.

There probably wasn't much call to use it from this side, with the usual method of entry, and all, but the latch turned, filling the cavern with a really loud, rusted _squeak_ of the hinges, before surprising Leon further by sending a rush of hot air into his face. Beyond the door were more of those old fashioned light fixtures, but the wall, floors, and ceiling were all made of grated metal, like the inside of underground service tunnels, which was exactly what this place looked like.

Besides the metal, there were exposed pipes and pieces of machinery that must have been running pretty hot, because the air in the corridor was so hot that it gave off a distorted look like heatwaves on a desert highway. This was apparently the only way through, and there had to be a way out if someone was expected to do services on the machines down there, so with beads of sweat forming on his face after only one step inside, Leon was stopped when he heard another _splash_ in the water behind him.

Turning around to look, the Agent felt a knot forming in his stomach when he saw that he was no longer alone down there, joined now by a monster that was wearing an elaborate red robe… it was Salazar's guardian, the same one that had captured him both times, and judging by the way it was holding its spear… its slightly glowing eyes glaring at him from under the hood… something told him that it wasn't there to capture him this time.


	43. Chapter 43 Salazar's Right Hand

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Forty Three: Salazar's Right Hand**

Slamming the door shut as soon as he was through, Leon took off running down the hot, humid corridor, rounding the first corner that he came to, and then hiding behind one of the largest pipes that ran up and down. For several seconds all the Agent could hear was the _hiss_ of steam escaping, along with the rumble of machinery, but then the red robed guardian came into view. Rounding the corner, and slowly making its way down the corridor, the abomination marched right past him as he kept moving around the pipe to avoid its sight, and then Leon headed back the way he came.

Looking back over his shoulder while returning to the main hallway, he saw that his pursuer was still heading in the same direction, and now upon reaching the corner the Agent had to decide what he was going to do. Returning to the bottom of the well was not an option, since it would have just left him cornered when the guardian eventually returned, so Leon turned left instead. There were some kind of directory signs on the walls, but he didn't read Spanish any better than he could speak it, so the Agent was going to have to simply look everywhere until he found a way out.

The next junction he came to went off to the right, but there were no large pipes to hide behind this time, only some power conduits that ran along the ceiling. Thankfully, this corridor was shorter than the last one, opening up into a small sized room at the end that had some maintenance tools stacked against the wall, along with some black buckets of some kind of chemical, maybe oil or hydraulic fluid… and a metal cage door in the back that looked kind of like an old industrial elevator.

Without thinking about where the shaft went to, nor how safe the old contraption was, Leon raced across the room and hit the call button, only for it to have no reaction at all, no matter how many times he pushed the button. So what, was the old thing broken? No, judging from how the light inside at the top of the cage was out, it was more likely that the power to the device was simply turned off. Great, without being able to read the directory signs, how in the hell was he going to find where the circuit breakers… oh.

Looking upward in frustration, the Agent remembered the power conduits that were running along the ceiling… which ran from the elevator back toward the hallway. Yeah, that was it… maybe he could simply follow the conduits back to the power room, or whatever was down there, and turn the breakers back on. Yeah, that's right, who's the greatest detective in Raccoon City _now_ , the Agent thought as he turned around to begin this task… only to have some of the color drain from his face when he saw that he was no longer alone.

"Aw, crap." Leon whispered as the red robed guardian stood blocking the corridor. "Crap, crap, crap."

 _Bang! Bang!_ Drawing his revolver, and firing all six shots into the monster, the Agent's hope was that if he shot the thing in a different place each time, but instead the only damage caused was the small holes that were put in the guardian's robe. Sparks were created as each bullet ricocheted off the monster's unseen metallic body, some putting small blemishes into the walls of the chamber, and two of them striking one of the black chemical buckets so that their contents began to leak out.

 _Click-click_ , the revolver was empty, and there was no time to reload, not the weapon was helping him much here anyway, so Leon holstered it. Trying to think of how he was going to survive this, especially when the guardian growled as it started forward, but then it happened. The monster suddenly lost its balance, its feet flying out from under it while it fell onto its back, and when the abomination had just as much trouble getting back up again, the Agent realized that it was slipping on the chemicals that had made a puddle after leaking from the black bucket.

Not going to waste this opportunity, Leon ran past the flailing monster, jumping over the puddle, and then following the conduits as he went running back down the corridor. The conduits went to the right, proceeding down the main hallway past several branching corridors, and with him running at full speed, it wasn't long before the Agent found the source after rounding one last corner. Opening up into another larger chamber just like the elevator room had done, this one had a large machine in the center of the room that had to be walked around, but all he was after was the power panel.

The box in question was around the large machine, and on the far wall where the conduits were connected into the top of it, with Leon hoping that the process of restarting the elevator wasn't going to be too difficult. Turns out that the most difficult part was moving around some large pipes that were really, _really_ hot to the touch, since when he finally reached the power box, all the Agent had to do was pull the main switch upward. The box and conduits started to hum softly, with a hard _click_ of circuits being activated outside the power room, so Leon turned to make his way back…

Suddenly feeling air moving across his face while the bladed end of a spear passed within inches of his flesh, only to be pulled back and thrust again while the red robed guardian continued the attack. If not for the large machine in the center of the room getting in the way, the Agent probably would have been impaled by now, but when he tried to go around the other side of it to escape, the monster was already there with another stab of its weapon, forcing him to retreat. Thankfully, the guardian's size made it so that it couldn't pass between the machine and the hot pipes surrounding it… although this also left Leon trapped where he was.

Letting out a roar of frustration, and then trying to stab at him with more intensity, the abomination was starting to get less precise with each opportunity it had to stab him, until finally it made the one mistake that the Agent needed. During its latest attempt to spear him, the guardian accidently sunk the blade of it weapon into one of the hot pipes, releasing a super-heated jet of steam right into its face. Roaring again while stumbling backwards, the monster was temporarily blinded, so Leon squeezed between the machine and pipes, ducking underneath the steam jet, and then running as fast as he could back toward the elevator room.

Soon the monster was heard letting out yet another roar, and this one sounded angry, probably because it discovered its prey was missing. The Agent had a good head start, though, rounding the corner and sprinting his way toward the elevator just as the guardian's footsteps were heard leaving the power room. Okay, all he had to do was hit the button, and run into the cage before it reached him, and he would be, _oh shit_! Apparently the puddle of leaking chemicals had spread out across a much larger area across the floor in his absence, and now it was Leon's turn to fall on his back, unable to get up while the monster hunting him was heard rapidly approaching.

"No, come on!" He yelled, trying to pull himself across the floor unsuccessfully. "Come on! Come on!"

No, everything he did to try and free himself from the puddle of what must have been hydraulic fluid because of the strong metal taste the fumes were leaving in his mouth, the Agent was only able to flop around helplessly. So helplessly in fact, that he wasn't able to do anything while the guardian ran into the room after him… only to slip again in the puddle that was even larger now. _Slice_ , Leon cried out as the very tip of the spear was dragged across his shoulder while the creature fell, only to have the wind knocked out of him when the abomination's large foot slammed into his stomach, sending him sliding into the wall on the other side of the room… out of the puddle.

Sore from the hits he had taken, and still kind of slippery from the chemical all over his clothes, Leon did an awkward kind of sideways crawl over to the cage door so that he could push the button, and then used the edge of the door itself to pull himself into the cage once it opened. The red robed guardian was still flailing around inside the puddle of slippery chemical by the time the Agent was able to kick the only button available, and the abomination let out a furious roar as the doors closed, with the elevator car starting downward a second later.

Wait a second, _down_? Leon thought that after falling through the trapdoor into the old well had been about as far down as the castle got, but now the elevator was taking him even farther down into the depths of the earth… and apparently this elevator shaft was long as hell. It was a good thing that the car had been stopped at the top of the shaft, because if it had been all the way at the bottom when he pushed the button, who even _knew_ whether or not he could have survived that long against the creature that Salazar referred to as his right hand.

Down, down, down, farther and farther underground the elevator took him, and at some point the Agent must have fallen asleep, because he was suddenly jolted awake when the car finally came to a stop. Had it only been a couple seconds, or longer? There was no way to tell since the elevator didn't exactly have a meter that showed how many floors down he had gone, but now the door was opening, and Leon scrambled out before there was the chance of the guardian pushing the button back upstairs.

"No, no, no!" He exclaimed, stopping the door from closing with his arms. "You are _not_ getting a ride down here!"

Inside of the room in which he now found himself, there was all kinds of discarded junk like broken supply boxes and some shovels and pick-axes… hey, that was it! Letting go of the door long enough to move a short distance across the room and grab a shovel, Leon jammed the digging tool into the elevator car's doorway so that it couldn't close, thereby trapping the red robed guardian on the upper levels. Well, that was one problem solved, but as the Agent looked around at his new surroundings that consisted of a dirt floor and rough stone walls… he couldn't help but wonder where the hell he was now.


	44. Chapter 44 Mining Tunnels

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Forty Four: Mining Tunnels**

Although it was nice to have made it so that the red robed guardian couldn't get down there to where Leon was, the Agent had also trapped himself down in the absolute lowest levels of the castle, meaning that he was going to have to find some other way to get back up to the surface… if there was one. That was stupid, there had to be another way back up from… wherever in the hell he was now, so Leon reloaded his revolver, took a deep breath, and moved away from the jammed elevator.

This place was illuminated with even older light fixtures than the castle itself, and there were no doors, only a dirt covered floor and what looked like the naturally carved out walls of a cave. Was that where he was… the ancient cave system where Salazar's great-great-great, whoever had sealed away the first _Plagas_? For a moment this thought sent a chill down the Agent's spine when he realized that this place was where the first workers from the village had gotten infected… but then again, Leon was _already_ infected, so what did it matter?

Less hot and humid than that maintenance area he had just been through, yet warmer than the castle, the biggest thing he noticed while exploring the first tunnel was how stale and stuffy the air was. It was like there had been no circulation of fresh oxygen down there for a long time, and if the place had only recently been opened for excavation, then this was probably true. Another thing Leon saw, though, which didn't make a lot of sense to him at first, was how some of the cave wall surfaces were actually carved into images.

Old as the dirt probably, and mostly faded from time, the elaborate carvings on some of the walls looked a little bit like that spider thing that attacked _John Hurt_ in the first _Alien_ movie, along with what he guessed was supposed to be people, but they looked like they were dancing or something. Could it be that the ancient people of this part of Spain had once worshiped the parasites? If so, that sounded really, really stupid, given what the things did to their human hosts… but then again Umbrella had been messing around with the T-Virus just a few years ago, so apparently people hadn't really advanced that much.

Taking a few pictures of the carvings for Hunnigan to have analyzed once this was all over, the Agent continued making his way down the curving tunnel, so far being completely alone… until discovering what looked like a small set of railroad tracks. Suddenly the whole tunnel system vibrated enough to shake all the light fixtures, as if something nearby had exploded, but Leon didn't see anything… until he had to duck back into the tunnel when he discovered that he wasn't quite as alone as he thought.

" _El necio se inmolo con la dinamita_." A strained voice said as the owner came into view. " _Nos puso casi un dia tarde_."

Villagers, the Agent realized when he saw the shabby clothes that the two men were wearing, as well as how much dirt was covering them as they pushed a covered mine cart along the tracks. It didn't take a genius to figure out that the cart was filled with excavated fossils of the parasites, meaning that Salazar was _still_ having the workers dig out more of them, even though the whole village was infected. How much of the stuff did they need, anyway? What, was this ridiculous cult planning to try and take over the world, or something? You know… maybe they _were_.

From his brief discussions with Saddler, Leon already knew that they planned to send Ashley back home as soon as she was _converted_ , and up until now the Agent believed that the plan had simply been to have her _kill_ the President… but what if the _real_ plan had been worse? What if instead of killing President Graham, the young woman's job was to _infect_ him and probably others? With all the politicians in Washington DC used to having private meetings with each other in secret, it would be an easy thing to spread the parasites through Congress and maybe even the Military… oh, man, Saddler could _really_ do it.

Coming out of hiding as soon as the cart passed by, the Agent figured that the fastest way to get back to the surface was to follow the workers, since they had to get the samples out of these caves somehow, right? Only bad thing was that as he followed the cart down the tracks, there were more and more villagers around, both men and women, and all of them working hard to dig out the _Plagas_. On both sides of the slowly widening tunnel, workers hit the walls with picks, and scooped rocks off the ground with shovels, but thankfully they were so absorbed in their work that no one turned around to see _the outsider_ sneaking down the tunnel.

This went well for a while, but then after making another turn, the narrow tunnel suddenly opened up into a vast chamber where even more villagers were working. There must have been _billions_ of parasites back in the old days, since he could now see their focalized remains just by looking down at the rocks, and… hey, these ones really _did_ look like those _Face Hugger_ things from _Alien_. So were these ones the ancient ancestors of the ones he had seen, or were they what the ones inside of the workers would eventually grow into?

" _El ascensor esta atascado_." One of the men growled angrily, hitting a button. " _Vamos, echemos un vistazo al disyuntor_."

Reaching the end of the visible track, the mine cart was now on the platform of some kind of maintenance lift that from the looks of it, would take the cart down to the lower section of the track, where it could continue on. Man, Leon was going to have an awful time trying to sneak through there, with all the workers around, especially since they all turned around to face the tracks while ducking for cover so they wouldn't get hurt by…

 _BOOM_! Suddenly there was a flash of light as the whole chamber shook from an explosion at the other end of the chamber, causing a small rockslide while every light in the place shook back and forth. The Agent nearly lost his balance, having to lean on the corner of the narrow tunnel where he was hiding, but then he got an idea. The two workers who had been pushing the cart had to leave it all of a sudden, climbing down a nearby mounted ladder into the lower section, where they were now messing with a console that appeared to be a large circuit breaker… maybe for the lift?

Either way, no one was watching the cart right now, so Leon decided to use a desperate plan that was just crazy enough to work. Crouching low as he came out of hiding, he ran over to the cart and lifted up the cloth cover, finding that the trolley was only about two thirds of the way full, probably core samples of the next section of the tunnels that were going to be mined. Point is, there was enough room inside the cart for him to fit, so the Agent climbed in, pulled the cover back into place, and waited.

" _Viste eso_?" One of the workers said as they came back. " _Alguien acaba de subir al carro_."

" _Probablemente este forastero nos advirto sobre_." The other one replied, hitting the button to make the elevator start moving. " _Escuche que era estupido… demoslo a la bruja_."

Okay, so far so good, Leon thought as the cart reached the bottom of the short elevator shaft and the pushing down the tracks resumed. It seemed like no one noticed that anything was wrong, and by the time anyone did, the Agent would have probably already gotten out, or there would be significantly fewer of the villagers to deal with at the mine's exit. Hopefully, it didn't come out too far away from where Ashley was being held, but suddenly the Agent's thoughts were interrupted when the cart stopped, and then the cloth cover was pulled off by something that made him scream.

It was a woman, at least Leon thought it was, since she was wearing a shabby dress like the others, but there were bandages wrapped around most of her face, leaving only a single glowing red eye and a few strands of long black hair visible as she reached down to grab him by the shirt. Screaming with rage into her bandages as her rough, nearly clawed hands locked onto him, the Agent cried out in surprise when she lifted him up into the air, only to slam him down to the rocky earth.

Stunned, but still able to react, Leon twisted his body to avoid when she tried to stomp him with her boot, and then it was her turn to cry out when he gave her a solid kick to the chin in return. Her head tilted, and she took a step backwards, but other than that the kick had no effect, and the bandaged woman was on him again before he could even finish getting up. The other villagers were keeping their distance, content to watch when the Agent grabbed her wrists in an attempt to overpower this woman, but it was he who was overpowered when she put her knee into his stomach, before giving him a head-butt that sent him falling to the ground.

" _La bruja lo aplastara_!" One of the spectators laughed. " _Aplastarla_!"

There was no time to grab his revolver or any other weapon before _La Bruja_ was on him again, still screaming as she once again pulled Leon to his feet, but this time he was ready. Wrapping his hand around a large rock just before being pulled, the Agent swung this improvised weapon, striking the bandaged woman in the mouth with a loud _whack_ that sent her stumbling backwards. Not wanting to lose this advantage, Leon followed her with another swing that would have probably caved in _La Bruja's_ skull if she hadn't caught it in her hand.

Another power struggle between them as they grabbed onto the rock with both hands, trying to gain control of the weapon, and the bandaged woman was winning… God, she was strong. Suddenly Leon let go of it, making _La Bruja_ go off balance enough for him to spin around and slam his heel into the side of her head like Krauser had taught him. Unlike Tobias Liquid, the bandaged woman didn't see it coming at all, resulting with her dropping the rock when she fell over onto her hands and knees. Now moving in to finish her off, the Agent pulled his leg back for another kick… only to be surprised when the bandaged woman caught his foot in her hand, and shoved him backwards.

 _Clang_! Stumbling backwards until falling, Leon saw stars for a second when his head struck the side of the mining cart, and the next thing he knew _La Bruja_ was punching him in the face hard enough to make some blood come out of his mouth. Trying to reach for his revolver again, the bandaged woman stopped this by screaming as she lifted him up high above her head, making the villagers cheer when she slammed him back down into the mining cart. _Whack! Whack! Whack!_ Then the punches came, hitting him in the face again and again until he couldn't fight back.

" _Cambiar las pistas_!" The bandaged woman screamed as the villagers started pushing the cart again. " _El forastero esta haciendo un pequeno viaje_!"


	45. Chapter 45 Leon's Wild Ride

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Forty Five: Leon's Wild Ride**

Still partially dazed from his beating at the hands of _La Bruja_ , Leon tried to shake of off as the miners pushed him down the track. Lying in the mining cart on his side, the Agent slowly reached down and took his revolver out of its holster, being careful to not let the villagers who were guarding him see what he was doing. This was difficult since there were three of them walking alongside the cart, each with mining tools held above their heads as if just waiting for him to make even one false move.

" _Esta tonto va en un viaje rapido_." One of them laughed. " _Crees que el hara el salto o salpicara en las rocas?_ "

Honestly, Leon wasn't too worried about having to fight off his guards if push came to shove since there was at least a bullet for each of them, but it was the bandaged woman who was the real threat. She was just as strong as Salvador had been, if not stronger, meaning that bullets would have probably affected her the same way too, meaning that the Agent was going to have to be very careful about getting out of this situation. So, where were they taking him, anyway?

It was hard to tell how far the cart had been pushed, since the speed was pretty slow, but what he did notice was that at some point the tracks came to a junction where Leon could hear the sound of more work going on down one tunnel, while the other one was silent. _La Bruja_ pulled the rusted handle on the switching station, causing the track to change direction, and the Agent didn't like the way the guards were laughing when they started pushing him down toward the silent tunnel.

Only some of the light fixture down this path were working, telling something about how often this part of the tunnel system was used, since there was even more dust around, and the wheels of the mine cart squeaked from struggling to pass through the rust on the tracks. This must have been one of the older sections of the mine, maybe dried up and abandoned since it was one of the first to be used, maybe? The tunnel curved again, now, but after that instead of continuing onward, the guards simply stopped pushing when the cart felt like its wheels had somehow locked themselves into place.

This must have been the end of the line, Leon thought as the guards began to laugh amongst themselves, and even though the Agent couldn't understand their words, he figured from the way they pointed at him that now was the time to escape. _Bang! Bang!_ Aiming his revolver and shooting the two closest villagers in their heads, he struck the next one across the head with the weapon, before aiming it at _La Bruja_. Pulling the trigger two more times, Leon ignored the other villagers so that he could shoot her twice in the face, causing the bandaged woman to stumble backwards into another switching station.

She managed to catch herself by grabbing onto the lever, but her weight was enough to pull it down, and the Agent had already struck the next villager with his weapon before noticing that he was now moving away from them. Instead of switching the tracks to another line, apparently this station had unlocked whatever was holding the wheels in place, and as the cart began to pick up speed, it was only now that Leon was able to get a good look at his new situation. The mine cart had been stopped at the top of a steep downward incline, and by the time he realized what was going on, it was too late for him to jump off without risking severe injury.

Oh well, he thought while crouching back down in the cart, at least he was being carried away from the villagers… but then this positive note was shattered when the Agent heard a horrific scream. Looking backwards, Leon gasped when he saw _La Bruja_ sprinting down the tunnel after him… catching up to him even as the cart continued to pick up speed. Yeah, _way_ worse than Salvador, he thought while fumbling to reload his weapon, which wasn't easy with how the cart was starting to bounce a little.

 _Bang_! Aiming for her leg, the Agent pulled the trigger, making the bandaged woman stumble a bit when the bullet hit her just above the knee, but it only took seconds for her to recover… sprinting even _faster_ now and catching up to the cart. Firing another shot, this time at her chest, the effect was even less noticeable, allowing _La Bruja_ to get close enough for her hand to grab onto the back of the speeding cart… so Leon shot her in the fingers. Growling as she was forced to let go, the bandaged woman immediately grabbed onto the cart with the other hand, which the Agent would have stopped if his aim hadn't been thrown off when the cart suddenly took a turn.

Having to hold onto the sides of the cart to stop from being thrown out himself, he realized that the revolver wasn't working here, so he holstered it while _La Bruja_ was trying to pull herself toward him, only to pick up one of the rocks he was sitting on. _Whack! Whack!_ Lifting the object above his head and bringing it down onto the bandaged woman's hands and head as hard as he could, but he could only hit one of them at a time… allowing her to pounce into the cart as soon as he started getting tired.

"Get off me!" Leon yelled, trying to push her back after she tackled him. "I said get the fuck off me!"

Responding by punching him in the side of the face, the bandaged woman now locked her hands around his throat, making the Agent gasp and gag for breath when she started to strangle him. Moving up farther onto his body and then pinning his arms down with her knees, _La Bruja_ screamed in rage while her grip got tighter… and tighter until Leon was starting to get tunnel vision, and then the bandaged woman was suddenly just not there anymore, allowing him to take in a breath that was mostly coughing.

 _Crash_! The cart was moving so fast that he had only been able to catch a glimpse of what happened, but apparently they had passed underneath some kind of warning sign that stretched across the tunnel, and _La Bruja's_ head was up just high enough for the sign to be busted in half when it came into contact with her face. Sent flying backwards by the force of this hit, the bandaged woman tumbled backwards out of the cart, and now it was moving so fast down the incline that she had no hope of catching up, falling behind even after starting to sprint again.

"Too slow, you nasty bitch!" Leon called back to her as she vanished from sight. "I hope every last one of you rots down here in…

His words were suddenly stopped when the cart instantly changed directions, going around from traveling downward to flying upwards when the tracks became a sharp incline… but then the tracks ended as if they had been broken off a long time ago, and before he knew it, Leon and the cart were sailing through the air… above a dark and seemingly bottomless chasm… right toward a wall of rock. Acting under instinct, the Agent leapt off of the cart just before it was going to hit the wall, grabbing for a ledge that was at the top… but it was going to be close.

 _CRASH_! The whole chamber seemed to shake when the cart slammed into the rock wall, with more of those same sounds to follow when it tumbled down into the darkness, leaving Leon… leaving Leon holding onto the very corner of the ledge he had spotted, with nothing but his fingertips. He had almost bounced off and followed the cart down into the abyss, and it had taken the last of his strength to keep his grip… strength that was now exhausted, leaving him unable to pull himself upward.

"No! No, come on!" The Agent yelled, struggling to keep his grip even as the ledge he was holding onto started to crumble. "Come on, Leon, you can do this!"

Struggling to boost himself up, and then trying to kick one of his legs up over the ledge, both of these plans failed, leaving Leon even more exhausted; his fingers starting to shake and more of the ledge crumbling until one of his hands lost its grip completely. Now holding on by only one arm and starting to panic, the Agent was becoming so scared as the ledge started to crumble again that he started screaming for help… even though he knew that there was no one around to save him.

"No! No, somebody help me!" Leon yelled, weakly trying to grab onto something with his other hand. "Help!"

And then the ledge crumbled, causing him to gasp as his hand slipped off the wall, causing him to fall… for less than a second before it all stopped when something powerful clamped down onto his wrist. Having been looking down into the waiting darkness, it took physical effort for the Agent to be able to look back upward again as he felt his body slowly being raised toward the light… was he dead? Did he die on the rocks below, and was he now going to be staring into the face of God when he entered the afterlife?

"God damn it, Leon, climb!" A familiar voice, definitely not belonging to God yelled. "You have to climb while I pull, kid, or else we'll both fall in!"

When Leon was finally able to look up, it wasn't the face of God that he saw, but the flickering yellow eyes of Tobias Liquid. The hooded man was laying on top of the ledge, reaching down so that his hand was locked onto the Agent's wrist like a vice, and now that Leon had come back into reality, his body was starting to respond again. Digging his feet into the wall as best he could, he grabbed onto Tobias's shoulders, working together with him until the Agent had been pulled completely up onto the ledge… where the other end of the cart tracks were located, as if the incline between the two sections had once collapsed… no wonder they didn't use that tunnel anymore.

"How in the fuck do you manage these things?" The hooded man asked, the yellow fading from his eyes as they both sat up. "Five minutes, kid… I can't leave you alone for _five minutes_ without you… Jesus Christ, what the hell are you even _doing_ down here?"

"I don't… I don't know." Leon replied, falling onto his back as the tunnel vision returned, fatigue suddenly overtaking his body. "Just… just shut up, Tobias… just… just…


	46. Chapter 46 Return to the Surface

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Forty Six: Return to the Surface**

Leon thought for sure that he was going to pass out, but instead he simply drifted in and out of consciousness for a while, not sure for how long exactly. The last time he drifted lasted for a while longer this time, though, not enough for him to start dreaming, but long enough to have been moved up against the cave wall in a sitting position without his knowledge. Jolting partially awake upon hearing what sounded like muffled explosions, the Agent was able to rub his eyes into clarity just in time to see the masked face of Tobias as he walked out of the nearby passage.

The hooded man was reloading the cylinders on both his revolvers as if he had just been in a firefight, which would have explained the muffled explosions if they had been echoing gunshots instead. Once finished, he walked over to where his large backpack had been set down in the corner a short distance from where Leon was sitting, and took a load off himself; sitting down and removing his mask and hood, before taking what looked like an asthma inhaler out of the bag. This didn't make sense because the viruses Tobias absorbed kept him in perfect health… but then he saw that the cartridge being inserted into the inhaler was labeled _UMB T-000_.

"You pass out a lot, you know that, kid?" The hooded man asked, lowering his mask before pressing the button and inhaling the vapors. "It's funny… there's enough _T-Virus_ in this thing to infect a small city, and I've burned more than _half_ of it just trying to keep you alive."

Upon breathing in the airborne virus, the yellow color returned to Tobias's eyes to the point where they started glowing, only to return to their standard color as soon as he blinked. At some point between the Starlight and now he must have learned how to store those temporary powers of his for later, and he sighed deeply with relief as if taking a hit of the virus like that was the same thing for him that marijuana was for normal humans. He must have been rationing it, too, because he put the inhaler back into the bag before leaning back against the wall to take a rest… but Leon wasn't capable of relaxing while he was around.

"I can't figure you out, Tobias." The Agent said, groaning a bit from soreness as he sat up more. "You helped the government destroy Umbrella, but then you infected the people onboard the Starlight… now you're hell bent on saving my life, yet I _know_ you're the one who hurt Ada… so what's your game?"

"Did you know that your eyes soften when you mention Claire and Ada, but not Ashley?" The hooded man casually replied, snickering a little. "I don't blame you; Ashley has the most _annoying_ voice I've ever heard, and Claire grew up to be really pretty… not sure what kind of future you'd expect to have with _Ada_ , though."

Oh, that was real cute, coming from the man who married Gillette, Leon thought, mentioning the same a second later… only to be quickly shut down when Tobias replied that at least Gillette had never lied to him, before asking him how many times Ada had been dishonest? It was true that the black haired woman had lied to him all the way through Raccoon City, along with not exactly being upfront about working with Wesker or what she was doing there in the first place, but… but at least Ada hadn't infected hundreds of innocent people.

"Is this _really_ why you couldn't make things work with Claire?" The hooded man laughed. "When I saw how hesitant you were to get close to Amanda and Cora on the Starlight, I was starting to think you liked _boys_ … but you're in love with Ada Wong, aren't you, you stupid, _stupid_ man? And to think, you could've kept Claire Redfield; she would have been better for you."

"What the fuck do you know about Claire or Ada, or… _anything_?" Leon snapped, getting sick of his _observations_. "And for your information, I was _going_ to stay with Claire, but she had to find her brother, and then we just kind of fell away from each other… and you don't know shit about Ada."

For a moment the Agent thought he was winning the argument, until Tobias replied that he knew the black haired woman was scared of losing her beauty more than anything… and that once frightened enough, she had screamed out _Leon's_ name… right before she broke and told him _everything_ he wanted to know. A knot began to form in the Agent's stomach when he imagined this… this _monster_ hurting Ada for… for whatever it was he wanted her for. Leon's first thought was to take out his revolver and start shooting, but he knew that he was no match for the hooded man in a fight, especially when he was fully charged with T-Virus.

"How… how were you _ever_ a human being?" The Agent growled as he stood up. "You know what… I'm done here. I'm gonna go get Ashley back, than I'm gonna cure our infections, and then you're dead if I _ever_ see you again."

"You're welcome for saving your life again, kid." The hooded man replied, pulling his mask back up before getting to his feet as well. "And don't worry, as soon as this mission is over you will _never_ have to see me again… but until that time, you and me are sticking together… like best-est pals."

Leon started to protest, but then again for all the bad things Tobias had done, he seemed to be genuinely concerned for the Agent's safety, even though he still wouldn't say _why_ he cared in the first place. So far it had also been pretty handy to have him around for the more, uh… _unique_ abominations that were lurking around the castle, so for now at least, it was looking like the two of them were stuck together.

No longer wanting to be down there in the ancient mines, Leon started walking down the only passage that was available, following this section of the mine cart tracks as they started going up a shallow incline. Unlike the other side of the chasm, this part of the tracks was a straight shot, as if meant to gradually slow down a speeding cart that had just come from that steep hill, which made sense so that they could get the mined rocks out faster. Of course, that was all a moot point though, since this whole section of the tunnel was unused… or was it?

Stopping in mid-step, the Agent gasped and reached for his revolver when he saw that this tunnel was occupied by more of the villagers… only to stop when he saw that they weren't moving. Some of them were leaning up against the wall, while others were slumped over old mining carts, and more still were just lying there on the ground… all dead, but… the strangest part were the piles of ashes that were scattered about. They were too small to be campfires, and some were kind of scattered about, leaving burn marks on the walls as well as some of the villagers who had killed more violently… what the hell?

"Don't worry, kid, I cleared out this tunnel on the way in." Tobias said, making him jump a little. "In a confined space such as this, all I had to do was bite one of them, and then wait for the problem to take care of itself… didn't have to fire a shot."

Leon knew all too well what the hooded man was talking about, and he could only imagine the chaos that must have filled this tunnel when the bitten villager turned into one of those red-skinned, burning zombies like what had been done to Cora. Tobias must have bitten a few of them, since there were several ash piles as they continued up the tunnel, and with all the claw and bite marks on the rest of the dead villagers, apparently they had been shown no mercy until… hey, wait a second.

Experiencing a brief flashback of when he and Luis had woken up at the gold mine, the Agent remembered seeing that one miner who was red in the face and smoldering as he went crazy and killed the guards against Chief Mendez's orders to not harm them. So, had the hooded man bitten that guy and then just sent him into the shack to get rid of the other two guards? If so, then both Leon and Luis could have easily been killed, but when asked about this, Tobias simply winked at him before snickering to himself.

"Oh, don't be so down, kid." The hooded man continued. "I wouldn't let anything happen to you… and hey, you said you need a high place to try and contact Hunnigan again, right? Well, you're in luck because this tunnel comes out near one of the highest towers in the place."

Well, that was _some_ good news, Leon thought as they kept walking… at least if he was able to restore contact with HQ, then maybe the President would finally allow him to be given some backup after hearing how much worse the whole situation had become. God damn, these miners had been torn to pieces; discolored foul smelling blood still dripping out of a couple of the fresher ones, and the Agent unable to stop himself from remembering what it was like to be chased through the lower levels of the Starlight by Cora when she had been bitten by him… but the worst part had been when she briefly regained her humanity before…

"Hey, when you bit these people did they become humans again first?" Leon asked, stopping so that he could turn back to face him. "Were… were they able to communicate?"

"You better believe it." Tobias replied coldly. "Well, sort of… it was like them and the parasites were fighting for control, and then there was the usual confusion and wanting to know what happened to their families, nothing useful… and then _poof_ , they burnt up like vampires in the sunlight."

 _Don't talk to him anymore, Leon, just don't talk to him at all_ , the Agent kept mentally repeating to himself after turning around to resume walking up the tunnel. Yeah, that was his plan… just ignore the psychotic former detective until they got out of there, but suddenly Leon found himself shivering a bit when the air temperature began cooling down. Walking a little faster, the Agent realized that they must have been close to the surface, because he could hear the rumbling of thunder, and then a gust of wet wind sprayed across Leon's face when the tunnel finally came to an end.

Just like the hooded man said, there was a really tall tower in sight, looking like a straightened _Leaning Tower of Pisa_ , but between them and it was a series of what looked like had once been small buildings. All that remained of them now was the partially collapsed stone ruins that were scattered about like an ancient castle-village, but… but there were no electric lights out there, so how was he seeing anything at all? There were visible lights on the tower, but only a few flickering sources of unseen light… _camp fires_.

Fires meant that there were more of those robed cultists or perhaps mine workers somewhere in the ruined village, and Leon was going to have to get through them if he wanted any hope of saving Ashley before it was too late.


	47. Chapter 47 To the Tower

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Forty Seven: To the Tower**

Although the rain was beginning to let up, there was still plenty of lightning to illuminate the ruins between Leon and the tower… lightning that showed the Agent just how many robed cultists and villagers were wondering around the ruins of what had probably once been a really nice castle village. Although many of them were gathered around the campfires, a scan with his compact binoculars had revealed that a lot of them were patrolling as well… and all of them were carrying blunt or bladed weapons of some kind.

"You know, you'd almost think they were _expecting_ us." Leon commented, putting the binoculars away. "Maybe I should have tried finding the mine's _newer_ exit."

"Yeah, I don't think you want to do that, kid." Tobias replied, putting his mask and hood back into place. "According to the map I found, the new exit would have taken you all the way back to the village gold mine."

Oh wow, that would have been just _great_ , the Agent thought as he imagined having to fight his way through the entire village for a second time just to reach the castle, where Salazar's red robed guardian was probably still looking for him. Not that he wanted to fight his way through all the infected people in front of him, especially since now that the parasites within could emerge since there were no strong light sources around. Yes, there were probably other areas of the castle Leon could probably get to, but the tower was closest, and Hunnigan needed to be contacted as soon as possible.

Thanks to the hooded man, the Agent now had plenty of bullets for his revolver, but it was just too bad the rifle had been destroyed. With that weapon, he could have started picking off the cultists at a distance, hopefully being able to get a good amount of them before the infected people were able to determine where he was shooting from. Or maybe if he got up on top of one of the ruined walls and started shooting from above, then all Leon would have to do was make sure to take them out before they got into throwing range.

"Are you _seriously_ thinking of taking on that whole group at once?" Tobias asked, as if able to read his mind. "You _do_ realize this is why you've been captured _six_ times in the last eighteen hours, right?"

"Okay then, smart guy, what's _your_ plan?" The Agent snapped, turning to look at him. "You think you're so much smarter and better than me, fine, show me how you're gonna get us through there _without_ getting attacked by the whole mob."

In response, the hooded man just snickered a little, shaking his head as he stepped out into the rainstorm, moving quickly toward the edge of the ruins. Taking out his binoculars again so that he could watch, Leon had to mostly wait for lightning flashes to see details, but was able to follow the shadows of movement while Tobias approached where the first villager was patrolling. Instead of attacking right away, the hooded man ducked down behind a piece of ruined wall, watching the guard as he slowly made his patrolling rounds twice in a huge circle around the nearest campfire… before making his move.

Striking out of the shadows like a rattlesnake, Tobias stood up and grabbed the villager, putting one hand over the guard's mouth while pulling him back over the piece of stone wall where none of the others would see. The villager struggled, but the hooded man wrapped around him like an anaconda, and then taking down the mask so that he could bite down hard into the side of the guard's neck. Leon had to look away at this point, experiencing a brief flashback to when Tobias had done this to Cora onboard the Starlight… and he knew what was going to happen next.

Eventually the villager stopped struggling, reverting to a normal skin color while suddenly looking around as if confused. He and Tobias spoke, not that the Agent would have understood the language even if he were close enough to hear the exchange… and then it happened. Appearing to be wracked with sudden pain, the villager doubled over while his body started to smolder; drooling heavily while his skin took on a reddish shade, and then crying out when the hooded man pushed him back over the piece of ruined wall.

Leon watched in horror as the villager jumped up a few seconds later, immediately spotting the cultists who had been drawn over toward the noise, and attacking them like a rabid animal. They tried to defend themselves with their weapons, but were no match for the virus-enhanced strength of their former comrade, who was screaming and tearing into them with both claws and teeth while his body started to burn up more and more. Strange part, though… something the Agent hadn't noticed back on the Starlight… although the red-skinned monster was burning up, the process was partially reversed each time it took another victim, prolonging its tortured life.

While some of the cultists and villagers were being attacked, others were sounding the alarm, causing a couple dozen more of their allies to come running from all parts of the ruined village to join the fight. Some of the ones who had been attacked by the burning zombie were starting to turn, but the cultists did a pretty good job of destroying them before they did, although not nearly as successful against the original red one. Leon didn't understand the point of Tobias's plan, since the things were likely to attack him as well, but then he understood when the hooded man took a grenade out from under his coat.

So _that_ was the plan… get all of the guards into one place, then casually toss the grenade into the center of the crown, and _BOOM_! The explosion actually sounded a lot like thunder, most likely masking it from any other nearby enemies as it sent all of the cultists and villagers flying in all directions, and then everything was quiet. A couple of them tried to get up, only to collapse, and the red skinned zombie had been reduced to a pile of ash… God damn it, the Agent thought; he was glad that Tobias's plan had been successful because now they had a clear run to the tower, but now he was gonna have to hear the hooded man gloat.

"All right, so you did it." Leon said, beating him to it while walking out into the storm. "You didn't tell me you had a damn _grenade_."

"Well, you didn't _ask_ me about it, now _did_ you?" Tobias asked, his eyes flashing yellow again. "That's your problem, Leon, you don't _think_ before you do things; you just go charging in with _guns-a-blazin'_ , and then flopping around like a _lunatic_ trying to find a way out when it all goes bad… this wouldn't be a problem if I'd been able to train you back in Raccoon City… damn outbreak."

The Agent was genuinely disgusted with the idea of reporting to the RPD if there hadn't been a T-Virus outbreak, and then having the hooded man as his training officer. Of course, that wasn't likely since Tobias had been a division head in those days… although when Leon reminded him of this, he replied that he would have taken one look at the Agent and then pulled every string he could in order to make it happen… just imagine if Raccoon City was still there, and _Detective Leon Kennedy of Homicide Division_ was keeping the streets safe.

"Do you… do you _get off_ on tormenting people?" Leon asked, sickened by the idea of working for him. "How did _anyone_ who joined the RPD put up with you?"

"Usually they just said _'yes, Lieutenant'_ , and then did as they were told." The hooded man replied. "But believe it or not, I helped all the Rookies be successful, too; Valentine wanted to prove that she wasn't a scumbag like her dad, so I put her undercover and we caught _two_ serial killers. And kid, you should have seen Redfield's face when he found out I knew what the discharge code meant on his Air Force paperwork."

Now _that_ revelation made Leon stop in his tracks, even though they had only walked about half the distance to the tower, since not even _Claire_ had known the official reason for her brother being booted out of the Military before joining the RPD. I mean, it did make sense for Tobias to know, since he was also a Veteran, just of the Army instead of the Air Force, and being one of the division heads, the hooded man would have certainly been able to take a look at any new Rookie's discharge papers.

"Redfield tried to say that he was just too badass for the Military." Tobias said when asked. "And I used to say it was because he violated President Clinton's _don't ask don't tell_ policy, but they're both bullshit. I mean, do you think he could have become a cop with a dishonorable discharge? Code _GLH_ isn't his fault, but I gave him my word that Claire wouldn't find out, and I think I can trust you not to tell her… well, let's move on?"

"Hold on a second." Leon replied, following him when he resumed walking. "What the hell is code GLH?"

But the hooded man wouldn't say anything else, and then there was no time for further inquiries because the two of them had reached the bottom of the tower. A large door made of wood and metal awaited them, but there was no lock or bar on the door, probably because the cultists outside were supposed to be guarding it. The whole base of the tower was illuminated by the light fixtures both on the wall and coming out from inside the windows, but it was _a lot_ brighter inside when the Agent slowly pushed the door open.

" _Y esta conversion dara poder no solo a la nina, sino a la fee n su conjunto_." Salazar's squeaky voice echoed. " _Damos gracias a Senor Saddler y… santa mierda, estas bromeando_?!"

There, at the opposite side of this large, rounded chamber was the Castalian himself, along with the black robed guardian, who was holding the still bound Ashley in front of a cage door that looked like some kind of elevator. Aside from that, there were four robed cultists kneeling down in front of them, and they must have been higher-ups, since they were wearing the elaborate robes that the Agent had only seen on one cultist before. It took Leon a second to realize what all this meant, but then it hit him… he had found Ashley again… and everyone in the room wanted to kill him as the kneeling cultists started to stand up.


	48. Chapter 48 Elevator Race

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Forty Eight: Elevator Race**

"Leon!" Ashley exclaimed, her face lighting up with a smile upon seeing him. "You came for me!"

" _Traer a la nina_!" Salazar said as he started toward the cage elevator door. " _Los ganados cuidara de el_!"

The four red robed cultists were definitely a problem as they slowly stood up with their various bladed weapons at the ready, but the little man was going to get away if Leon didn't do something fast. The first thing he thought of was to use his knife, since bullets weren't always reliable around this place for precision work, so the Agent tossed the blade across the room just as Salazar was reaching for the elevator button… pinning the little man's hand to the wall when it sunk all the way through his discolored flesh.

At first it looked like Salazar didn't realize what happened, but then his eyes slowly widened, gasping as some of his discolored blood dripped onto the floor. Eventually he screamed in agony, causing all of the cultists to stop and turn toward him, as if protecting their leaders was even more important than repelling outsiders. Suddenly the black robed guardian stepped forward, causing the little man to scream when it ripped the blade from his hand, tossing it back at Leon in one smooth motion.

Falling backwards out of instinct to avoid the toss that would have surely killed him, Leon dropped down to the floor, leaving Tobias to gasp when the knife flew right at his face. There was a ripping sound when the blade passed through the back of his hood before sticking into the wall, and then part of the hooded man's mask fell open, revealing that he had received a deep cut across the cheek. The wound was already closing by the time the Agent could react to this, but by then the elevator door was closing, taking Ashley along with Salazar and his guardian.

"Focus on the problem in front of you, kid." Tobias said as Leon watched the elevator disappear upward from sight. "We'll get her back, but not if we don't take care of these guys first."

He was right; the four cultists had come back to life now that their leader was safely away from danger, and now they were advancing toward the two of them with blades raised. However, the Agent drew his revolver while the hooded man took out both of his, and between the two of them eighteen bullets was more than enough to handle the four cultists with a hail of light and noise. There was a lot of light in the tower, so there was no need to worry about the hidden parasites coming out of the bodies to play… but how was Leon going to catch up to that elevator before…

Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening behind them, and the Agent swallowed hard when he saw what was now entering the tower. It was the red robed guardian, the one he had left slipping in hydraulic fluid next to the elevator underneath the throne room. Apparently the monster had recovered, although its robe was permanently stained from the chemical, and… honestly, it looked even less happy than usual.

God damn it, Leon thought as the abomination held its spear at the ready. He had just realized that there was a spiral staircase that wrapped around the wall of the tower, giving him a way to catch up to the elevator… but this monster was too fast for him to run away, and as far as he knew there really wasn't a way to hurt it. Tobias didn't seem that scared, though… in fact he just sniffed the air for a second, before taking out his lighter and tossing it at the guardian after flicking it on.

Bouncing harmlessly against the material of its robe and falling to the floor, this gesture hadn't seemed to do anything, at least until the flames began to spread. Reacting to the petroleum base of the elevator's hydraulic fluid, the monster shrieked as its robe burst into flames, giving Tobias the time he needed to holster his revolvers and retrieve the Agent's knife from where it had stuck to the wall.

"Go get Ashley, kid, I'll handle this." He said as something dropped down into his hand from up his sleeve. "And make sure you stab that little bastard a few times for me, huh?"

Leon didn't really want the knife back, since the blade was covered with the hooded man's T-Virus infected blood, but he sheathed it anyways just as the flames on the guardian went out, revealing its true form. Looking sort of like a cross between an insect and a lizard, but with the top of its head… almost looking human, the abomination's eyes were no longer its most frightening feature. Maybe it was the hungry looking mandibles that twitched, or perhaps the long serrated tail that had a spear-like appendage at the end… either way, it was easily the scariest thing he had seen yet on this mission.

Suddenly the object in Tobias's hand extended into a baton, glowed dimly as blue electricity crackled around it, but not preventing the monster from lunging toward him with its claws open for the kill. He dodged the first grab, but then put the baton in the way of the second, making sparks fly when contact was made… and surprisingly causing the guardian to jump backwards, grasping its claw for a second until the electricity faded.

"Damn it, Leon, go get her!" The hooded man yelled, pushing him toward the stairs. "Hurry, before it's too late!"

Realizing that there was no other way, the Agent took off running for the stairs just as he heard the monster take another hit from the shock baton, but Tobias was going to have to handle that one by himself. With as much of a head start as Salazar had, it wasn't surprising that the elevator was long gone by the time Leon started running up the stairs, going round and around the walls of the tower until… until he was completely out of breath… holy crap, this tower was _tall._

He had gone around the whole thing five times with the top still nowhere in sight, although when looking down below Leon could still see the battle going on between the hooded man and the guardian. They circled each other, each striking and then pulling back as if fighting with knives… while the Agent was now holding onto the guardrail… not because he was afraid of falling, but because there were so many stairs that his legs were feeling all rubbery. Oh yeah, he looked like a _real_ hero now, gasping and huffing while moving up the stairs at a snail's pace; at one point falling to his knees and having to crawl a little after the eighth or ninth time around the whole thing.

"That's great, Leon, that's just _great_." He scolded himself while crawling. "Monsters and giants? No problem. Zombies and cult leaders? Too easy. But it's the damn _stairs_ that are gonna do you in."

Taking a minute or so to catch his breath, the good news was that nothing else had attacked him, nor had the red robed guardian come charging up from behind, so the Agent got to his feet. There was literally nowhere else for Salazar to run once he reached the top of the tower, so all Leon had to do was get there, rescue Ashley, and then call Hunnigan for extraction. The top of the tower was probably a perfect landing zone, too, so… yeah… just gotta get right up there… sure.

Eventually he reached the top of the elevator shaft, but the door was open and it was empty, meaning that Salazar and that other guardian had already taken the young woman to… damn it, where the hell had they gone? There was only a single corridor on this level, so the Agent followed it, passing through an archway and ending up back outside where the rain had slowed down significantly. This area was like some kind of balcony, possibly an observation area that wrapped around one side of the tower like a walkway… but with an old metal door in the wall.

"Hunnigan, do you read me?" Leon asked, taking out his communicator and turning it on. "Hunnigan, this is Agent Kennedy requesting backup… can you hear me?"

There was only static, just like it had been before his brief conversations with Salazar had taken place, so the signal was probably still being jammed. That was really the only explanation for why he wasn't getting a signal all the way up there, but it wasn't like being on his own was a new concept. Okay, no matter what happened, the little man was trapped in there and honestly the Castalian was a little sissy, so all the Agent had to do was… great, how in the hell was he going to deal with the black robed guardian?

Maybe he could sneak up on them? There was no telling how long Tobias could hold off the other guardian downstairs for, and the odds would be even worse once that monster was able to join the other up here, so it was now or never. Creeping over to the door, and trying to pull it open as quietly as he could, Leon was surprised to find that the hinges were well oiled, meaning that there was almost no noise at all when it opened. Now before him was a narrow hallway that was illuminated with torches, so he followed it and found himself stepping into a large open chamber where Salazar was standing at some kind of alter with his back turned.

There was a lower area past where he was standing, with this one serving as a kind of walkway system, possibly for the alter, but there was something else in this place, too. It dwarfed both the little man and his remaining guardian, seeming to spread itself across the entire wall of the chamber like plant growth, although twitching and bubbling like the hidden parasites within the villagers that he had seen. Strange, there was no sign of Ashley, though, but… there was no other way out of here, so where had she gone?

"You are a strong man, Senor Kennedy." Salazar said, turning around to face him. "I could never make it up all those stairs, myself, but in spite of your efforts, you are too late. The ceremony is complete, and the girl has been taken to Senor Saddler's private island sanctuary."

Pointing toward a small open doorway beyond the plant growth while he talked, Leon could just barely see a large body of water reflecting in the moonlight… along with some tiny dots of light that must have been mounted on the island the little man was talking about. The faint sounds of a waterborne motor just barely reached his ears as well, meaning that he had really been too late… the President's daughter had been taken away to that island way out there… while the Agent was stuck there with Salazar and his guardian.

"It seems that I am to keep you company for now." The little man continued as the growth on the wall began to move. "But if it's a woman you're after, then you are in for a treat because I brought one of my own to this little party… Senor Kennedy, allow me to introduce you to… _La Reina Plagas_."


	49. Chapter 49 La Reina Plagas

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Forty Nine: La Reina Plagas**

"Behold the mother from which _all Plagas_ are born." The Castalian declared, pointing at the monstrous abomination. "She is a truly noble and ancient creature, but between you and me, I don't think she's very happy about you killing her children."

It was like the entire back wall of this chamber had come to life, the flickering torchlight making parts of it look like a plant while others looked like what Leon had seen sticking out of the villagers' heads in the darkest areas, and then a bunch of tendrils suddenly shot out from one of its plant-like pods. Instead of attacking the Agent, however, the discolored purple ropes wrapped themselves around the black robed guardian, causing it to drop its spear on the floor while it was lifted up into the air.

"Your death is going to be _agonizing_ , Senor Kennedy." Salazar continued as another set of tendrils wrapped around his body as well. "And to think, you could have been master of the village, a leader of the faithful… but now you will be nothing… _nothing_!"

The last part of the little man's words were muffled as both he and the guardian were retracted into _La Reina Plagas's_ plant-like pods, and then the whole chamber began to shake as the abomination began to… change somehow. Every inch of the spread out substance along the walls was now twisting and folding around in on itself until it became less formless, and more like a gigantic creature that had two arms and a _really_ long neck. This thing now dwarfed _El Gigante_ , its massive frame taking up most of the chamber, although its base remained rooted to the spot as if it couldn't move from there.

Once its arms had finished forming, consisting more of whipping tendrils at the ends instead of hands and fingers, its head began to form, almost looking like the head of the red robed guardian, just with a large mouth and a single gigantic eye on the right side. The very last feature to form was a kind of barrier that was made of more tendrils that looked like tangled roots of a tree, but when the barrier opened Leon could see Salazar sitting inside, or… at least what was _left_ of him.

The Castalian's skin had become completely white, with his head, most of his torso, and his right arm remaining mostly normal for him, while the rest of him appeared to have been absorbed into this mother parasite, as if all three creatures had decided to combine their powers in order to stop him. _Bang! Bang!_ Drawing his revolver and firing two shots, the little man cried out when one of them hit him in the shoulder, causing the barrier to immediately close back over him while one of the creature's massive arms swung forward.

Although big and powerful, the appendages were slow moving, so the Agent was able to dive out of the way, rolling to a kneeling position and then firing his four remaining bullets at Salazar. The barrier blocked each of them, seemingly without damage, and now his weapon was empty, so Leon holstered it just in time to dive forward to avoid the next attack, this time grabbing the guardian's fallen spear, and tossing it at the mother parasite's head. The blade was so sharp that it stuck right into the center of its deformed face, causing the monster to shriek while Salazar's barrier opened… but of course there were no bullets in his revolver.

Once it was able to shake off the spear, the little man's barrier closed again, with the Agent getting the wind knocked out of him when the monster suddenly swung its head with enough force to knock him off his feet… and right over the edge of the walkway. It was only a couple meters to the bottom section, but the floor was stone and not very soft to land on, leaving him in pain while trying to scoot away from the head's next attack. Thankfully, there were plenty of large support pillars for him to hide behind, so he waited until the mother parasite slammed its head into the floor in an effort to crush him, before rolling his way behind one.

"Why are you hiding, Senor Kennedy?" Salazar's far deeper voice taunted as the head looked around. "Is it because you know you're outmatched? Tell you what… crawl out here and beg for mercy, and I promise it will be painless."

Leon had no intention of doing that just to get himself killed anyway, but honestly he _was_ pretty outmatched by this creature, so what was he going to do? The revolver wasn't much good unless he could get the little man's barrier open, and the only way to do that was to stab the face again, but he couldn't reach the guardian's spear. Hell, the only bladed weapon left was his knife, but the Agent didn't even want to handle that right now since the blade was still covered with… holy shit, the blade still had Tobias's blood all over it!

Stained red with a barely visible greenish tint when he unsheathed it, Leon made sure to keep the sharp end far away from himself while trying to figure out how he was going to do this, but then the answer came to him when the mother parasite's head started bending down to look behind the pillars one at a time. The logical thing to do would have been to keep moving to avoid detection, but this time the Agent stayed right where he was, no matter how likely this stupid plan was to get him killed.

"We are going to find you, Senor Kennedy." Salazar's voice taunted again as the head came toward the pillar he was behind. "We are going to find you, and you will be…

Suddenly the little man's words became a startled shriek when the mother parasite's head came around the pillar just in time to find Leon's knife being stabbed deeply into its massive eye. The blade tore through the soft tissue easily enough, and the monster was so surprised by this attack that its head flew upward, causing part of the walkway above to collapse when it broke right through the stone material. Okay, now the Agent was running away, hoping to be able to avoid the thing for long enough to…

 _Whack_! Now it was Leon's turn to be surprised when one of the abomination's arms came crashing down right behind him so that its whipping tendril-fingers caught him across the back. The knife fell from his grip, sliding across the floor while the Agent fell down face first, and he was just trying to get up, when the whipping fingers came down upon him again. _Whack! Whack! Whack!_ It was like being hit with five bull-whips at once, each blow driving him back down when he tried to get up or crawl away, and the whole thing being made worse by the Castalian's laughter.

"You lose, Senor Kennedy." Salazar said when the tendrils wrapped around Leon's body, lifting him up into the air. "Looks like the bigger man won after all."

The Agent wanted to say something back to this, but he was in too much pain, and now he had worse things to worry about as the arm brought him toward the center of the chamber… right above the mother parasite's head, which was now opening its mouth. He expected to be dropped in at any second, but suddenly the arm holding him began to shake, so much so that the arm lost its grip, dropping the Agent painfully to the floor while the head started to roar and shriek as well.

" _Que esta ocurreindo_?!" The little man yelled as the head started to smolder. " _Que le has hecho a le reina plagas_?!"

The smoldering was getting worse now, spreading across the abomination's body while its discolored, purple flesh began to take on a more reddish color, and now black smoke was starting to pour out from the mouth when it began slamming its own head into the side of the chamber. Although not completely overcome like people were, the mother parasite was clearly not entirely immune to the massive amount of T-Virus that was swimming around inside of the hooded man's blood, and Salazar started to panic when he realized that it was spreading toward _him_.

Ripping open his own barrier, and then forcibly tearing himself free from the mother parasite, the little man fell to the floor while _La Reina Plagas_ continued to slam its head into the side of the chamber until the ceiling started to collapse above it. Leon's hope was that it would be crushed by the large falling pieces of the stone ceiling, but this turned out to be unnecessary when the abomination suddenly screamed before bursting into flames. Just like the people who were bitten by Tobias, this monster was now being burned alive, and the Agent had to dive behind another pillar to avoid being roasted himself.

Eventually the screaming and burning stopped after a couple minutes, and when Leon looked back out into the chamber, he saw that the mother parasite was gone, replaced by a gigantic pile of ashes… through which something was moving. Stepping out and taking a closer look, he saw that it was Salazar, his still mutated body trying to pull itself across the floor toward the ladder back to the upper section, but… no, the little man just wasn't going to make it… not after everything he had done.

Stopping to pick up his now cleaned off knife from the floor, the Agent walked over and picked up the guardian's spear from where it had landed. The Castalian was just grabbing for the ladder's first rung when Leon caught up to him, the little man crying out in pain when Leon's heavy boot pressed his hand down against the metal until bones were heard cracking, and then he raised up the spear above his head.

"Wait! Wait, Senor Kennedy, wait!" Salazar begged, trying to free himself and get away. "Don't kill me! Please don't kill me! You haven't… you haven't even heard my last words!"

"Yes, I have!" The Agent yelled while bringing down spear. "Trust me, you've said enough, anyway."

Unlike with Mendez and the mother parasite, death was instantaneous for the little man as soon as the spear was embedded into the back of his skull so hard that the point touched the floor underneath. Well, that was it… just like the Chief of the Village, the Master of the Castle was dead, leaving… Ashley! Remembering that the President's daughter had already been taken by boat, Leon scrambled up the ladder, leaving the spear stuck in Salazar's body as he climbed to the upper section and looked out the open doorway.

That boat he had heard before the fight was nowhere to be seen, probably having already reached the island off in the distance. This meant that he had to find a way to follow it, and that his mission to rescue the young woman was probably only going to get harder from there… but hey… at least the rain had finally stopped.


	50. Chapter 50 Leaving the Castle

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Fifty: Leaving the Castle**

Stumbling his way out through the open archway behind where the mother parasite had been hanging on the wall, Leon had to lean on the archway itself in order to catch his breath. Aside from a few random bouts of unconsciousness, he hadn't had any real chance to rest since the early morning before driving up into the mountains with the _Policia_ for what was supposed to be a quick retrieval mission. Now the Agent's injuries and exhaustion were catching up to him, making the prospect of traveling to the mysterious island to find Ashley all the more daunting.

"Hey… I really _am_ getting good at this." He said to himself, reloading the revolver and closing the chamber faster than before. "It's really not so bad."

Sure, his 9mm pistol was reloaded faster and held more rounds, but so far the revolver hadn't jammed even after being dragged through water and mud, and even though sometimes not enough for certain obstacles, the .45 caliber bullets packed a bigger punch than the 9mm as well… wow, would he even have survived this far with the regular pistol? Maybe Tobias really knew what he was talking about when he had said that he dealt in _exactly what was needed at the time_.

Now that Salazar was dead, he decided to give the communicator another shot, although this attempt to reach Hunnigan back at HQ was about as successful as the others had been. Whatever was jamming his frequency had to be technological, so he supposed that it was kind of silly to believe that such jamming would be stopped just because the leader of the bad guys was defeated… after all, this was real life, not some kind of ridiculous video game. If it was, the Agent probably would have started using _cheat codes_ by now.

Well, what was needed now was a bridge or an airplane, Leon thought as he kept moving, passing through the archway and down a long twisting staircase that appeared to go from the very top of the tower down to the bottom at the far side. Hopefully nothing would attack him while heading down, because the Agent had to holster the revolver in order to hold onto the guardrail with both hands, and even though it had stopped raining the stone steps were still slippery, nearly causing him to fall down several times.

Across the water there was a faint light beginning to appear in the night sky, meaning that dawn was approaching… God, he had been at this for an entire _day_. Fighting his way out of Raccoon City with Claire had only lasted about eight to ten hours, and although the journey aboard the Starlight had gone on for several days, at least there had been time to rest while Reynaldo led Tobias and Gillette astray. This shit, though… this was just non-stop between Mendez's villagers and Salazar's cultists… but what was waiting on that distant island, he wondered?

Leon was just reaching the very bottom of the stairs, his legs wobbly from exhaustion, when all of his senses came back to life upon hearing what sounded like a small engine being started. Well, not really started, more like being pulled repeatedly in the _hopes_ of it starting, but it wasn't a chainsaw like before. Truthfully, it sounded more like the motor of a boat, and that was exactly what he needed, so the Agent crouched down while approaching the stone docks at the end of the walkway… only to be surprised at what he saw.

There were two small boats tied to the dock while there were spaces for three, the last one probably being used to kidnap Ashley, but the remaining ones didn't seem to be running. In addition to the dock itself, there was a small workshop nearby with an assortment of tools, and some of those tools were in the small hands of a black haired woman who was trying to fix one. She had the panel open on the top of the nearest one, looking like she was in the middle of changing a spark plug, when she suddenly drew her pistol to aim at him.

"Leon?" Ada asked, sighing with relief as she lowered the weapon. "How did you get past that thing in the… are you alone?"

"Tobias isn't with me, if that's what you mean." He replied when she started looking around. "Ada, what did he want with you… what are you even _doing_ here?"

Her sort of sarcastic reply was that she was _fixing this boat_ , a task in which she found herself in need of a _big strong man_ to finish the rest for her… too bad Leon knew next to nothing about engines. He could do all the absolute basics like change a tire and do an oil change, but honestly unless the spark plug just tightened itself into place, he really wasn't sure what else he could do to get the motor started. Thankfully, the part did just that after a few turns of the wrench that she was holding, and the next time it was pulled, there was a _putt-putt-putt_ as black smoke started to be produced.

The dark haired woman gave a half-hearted applause once the motor was running more smoothly, but then she got back on the topic of whether or not the Agent was alone. As soon as Leon told her that Tobias was probably still back at the bottom of the tower fighting the red robed guardian, Ada nodded before returning to the workbench and picking up a large _Steyr Machine Pistol_. _Pht-pht-pht-pht-pht!_ Thanks to the silencer installed at the end of the machine pistol's barrel, there was hardly any noise when she opened fire, not on him, but on the other boat tied to the dock.

Easily tearing through the wooden bottom, each bullet caused a small bubbling geyser of water to begin filling the boat, and with how many times she had shot it, it was only a matter of seconds before the whole thing started to sink. Clearly she didn't want the hooded man being able to follow her, but… well, unless Ada was willing to travel with him, that would mean that the Agent wouldn't have a way over to the island, either… since he assumed that was where the dark haired woman was headed.

"Three really _is_ a crowd, you know." She said, putting the weapon's sling over her shoulder before stepping down into the boat's driver seat. "Shall we?"

Even though he knew it was kind of a dick move to leave Tobias behind like that, this was the only way over to the island as far as Leon could tell, and above all else was his mission to rescue Ashley Graham. Besides, the hooded man was a big, tough BOW who could take care of himself, and besides he claimed to have all the answers anyway, so the Agent felt a little better now about getting into the small boat next to her. Once the rope was cast off, she eased down on the throttle, pulling the craft away from the dock and leaving Salazar's castle behind… hopefully for good.

"This lake's huge." She commented, picking up speed once they were out on the open water. "The island is several miles out, so you might want to get a little rest while you can."

Well, the Agent wasn't really in a position to argue with her, since fatigue had started to overcome him again the moment he sat down… and there were hardly any waves on the water itself, so the rhythmic humming of the motor was actually kind of soothing… so much so that Leon found himself closing his eyes for just a second, only to find that the morning sun was climbing its way up into the sky… an hour perhaps had passed? Either way, the sun was now lighting up the landscape, revealing that the island was really close now.

"Have a nice nap?" Ada asked as he looked at the approaching landmass. "I think I understand why you and Claire broke up, if that's as loud as you normally snore."

Replying with a sarcastic laugh, the Agent was more focused on the appearance of the island, which was actually a lot larger than he was imagining, and covered with many different kinds of structures. There were walls and barricades that he could see, as well as several buildings that ranged from pretty modern looking to some stuff that maybe could have been built back in _World War II_ , and… holy crap, this wasn't just some island, it was a God damn _fortress_. A fortress with electricity and modern lights, and… and who even _knew_ what else?

"All right, here we are." The dark haired woman said, slowing down the boat as they approached the rocky coastline. "We'll cover more ground if we split up."

Before Leon could even reply, Ada took another gun off her belt, aimed upward, and pulled the trigger. Instead of a bullet, though, a long metal zip-line with a small grapple was released, flying upward and hooking itself into the rocks somewhere high up on the cliff the boat was floating next to. _Zip_! With another release of the trigger, the dark haired woman was gone, lifted out of her seat and flung upward toward the higher ledges of the cliff, while suddenly leaving the boat without a driver.

Gasping with surprise and still a little out of it from his latest spell of passing out, Leon managed to grab the wheel and steer the boat back over toward the rocky coastline… losing all sight of Ada in the process. That woman was a total mystery, managing to say so much to him without actually telling him a damn thing… not even what she was doing in that part of Spain in the first place… although the silence weapon and that zip-line gun _did_ confirm that she was the unseen savior who had rescued him from Chief Mendez's guards.

"Yeah, thanks a lot, Ada." The Agent grumbled to himself. "Jesus… _women_."

All right, the dark haired woman was gone again, and Tobias was marooned back at the castle, meaning that Leon was once again on his own as far as rescuing the President's daughter. Of course, without having the slightest clue as to where she was, he was going to have to search every inch of the place, beginning with heading up the beach until finding a suitable insertion point to gain entry. So he tied off the boat to one of the larger rocks that were in the rope's range, and then he climbed out onto the rocky shore, taking a deep breath in order to get ready to once again begin the search for Ashley.


	51. Chapter 51 Saddler's Island

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Fifty One: Saddler's Island**

At first the only thing Leon encountered was rocky terrain and a few cliff-walls like the one that Ada had climbed up onto, but after passing underneath a natural archway, the Agent saw the first of the structures that he had spotted from the water. With the morning sun making its way slowly up into the sky, it was becoming easier to see the island's features, with this place looking more like a security check point than anything else when he used his compact binoculars to take a look around.

There were people in this place, just like in the village and the castle, but these guys didn't look like shabby peasants or deranged cultists. In fact, their clothes was a lot more modern, wearing things such as blue jeans and what looked like old bullet-proof vests from the _Vietnam_ era. Some of them had metal helmets on, too, but these random pieces of armor were forgotten when Leon saw the kinds of weapons that they were carrying… and not the farm tools of the villagers nor the medieval weapons of the cultists.

 _Firearms_ … everyone in sight was just sort of standing around like everyone else who was infected with the parasites, with the same discolored skin, and those glowing red eyes which were becoming less visible in the daylight… but they were _all_ armed. A knife was on every belt, and a few of them carried grenades, but the biggest threats were the pistols and rifles that they were holding. A new level of fear was now creeping up the Agent's spine while he watched them from behind the large rock he was hidden behind, since during everything that he had seen in Raccoon City and onboard the Starlight… the monsters never had _bullets_ before.

Suddenly his thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his communicator beeping, so Leon got all the way behind the rock and put his binoculars away so that he could activate the small device. His hope was that the jamming signal would be gone since he was so far away from the castle now, but the Agent's hopes of seeing Hunnigan's beautiful smile were immediately dashed when the static-laced image of Osmund Saddler himself came into view.

" _Ah, Mr. Kennedy, I had a feeling you were still alive_." The robed man said, his image crackling for a second. " _So… in the past eighteen hours you've killed a priest and beat-up a midget, and now all the people at home are wondering, what are you going to do next_?"

"I'm gonna shove my foot up your ass, that's what." The Agent sharply replied. "Look, Saddler… Mendez and Salazar are dead, and there's nowhere left for you to run, so why don't you just give up and let Ashley go home?"

The robed man waited patiently until he was done talking, and then laughed a little to himself, remarking that Leon shouldn't get too overconfident just because he had killed a couple of Saddler's _small-time_ associates. He also reminded the Agent that his plan was, in fact, to let the young woman return home… just only _after_ her conversion to _the true faith_ was complete. The robed man looked down as if glancing at his watch before reminding Leon that the clock was ticking for him as well… and who even _knew_ how much time there was left before his own conversion was finished.

"Saddler, you've had _two_ different armies try and stop me." The Agent reminded him. "It didn't work in the village, it didn't work at the castle, and it won't be _any_ different here. It's over, so just… just surrender, and we can all get out of this alive."

" _Surrender? Oh, Mr. Kennedy, you should do a stand-up act_." Saddler laughed again. " _Now, it may be true that I can't figure out how you managed to defeat my more… interesting followers all by yourself, but… actually, you know what? Come and get me, and then I promise you that when Los Iluminados has spread across the world… I'll have Ben Stiller play you in the movie… he's my favorite, you know_."

With that, the communication was ended, but there was a little bit of good news. If what Salazar had told him back at the castle was true, the same signal that prevented Leon from calling for backup also prevented his location from being tracked. So, even if Saddler knew that he was on the island, he didn't know _where_. This advantage was going to vanish the moment one of the guards sounded the alarm, though, meaning that this time the Agent was going to have to be stealthier than ever before… but how?

As far as check-points went, this one was pretty secure; armed guards on the ground in front of the metal gate that sat in the low point between two cliff walls, and a couple manning the searchlights on top of the wall as well. A few more men were doing a slow patrol of the area, making a big circle around from the gate itself all the way over to the rocks that he was hiding behind, and that gave him an idea. It was a stupid idea that would probably get him killed, or at least spotted, but… right now he didn't have a better one.

The patrolling group had three men walking in a single file line, so the Agent waited until the squad was passing by his rock, before leaning out to make his move. Grabbing the last man's rifle with his hand over the trigger well so that he couldn't shoot, Leon used his other hand to stab the guard in the side of the neck so that he couldn't call out to the others, and thankfully his comrades just kept walking as if they didn't notice at all.

Once pulled behind the rock, the Agent forced the guard onto the ground and stabbed him in the neck and face until he finally stopped moving, and the best news of all was that he didn't have to worry about the parasite emerging with the sun up. Soon the man was dead, allowing Leon to put on his helmet and vest, while also claiming the rifle and its ammo… no grenades on this one… too bad. As the final step of this plan, he put some dirt on his face, and then waited for the patrol to pass again, this time simply stepping out and joining them.

Great, so far so good; the Agent had successfully infiltrated the guards, and now the patrol route was taking him right over to the gate, but once there how in the hell was he supposed to get them to open it? Yeah, probably should have thought of that _before_ joining the patrol, since now not only didn't he have a way to get through the gate, but he still didn't know the language, so Leon was in trouble if any of the others said anything to him. Hopefully, they wouldn't, since the whole bunch wasn't exactly sociable when there weren't any outsiders to attack, and… oh crap, the gate was coming up.

" _Abre la puerta_." The front man said as the squad approached. "Nos estamos moviendo a la zona dos para buscar el forastero."

" _De Verdad crees que el forastero vendra aqui_?" The gatekeeper replied while walking over to the switch. " _El debe ser un idiota aun mas grande de lo que he oido_."

Whatever they were saying to each other, apparently it was just what Leon needed, since with a pull of the switch, there was an electric whirring sound before the metal gate started to open. Trying his best to move like they did, and not make eye contact with any of the guards, the Agent's heart was racing as he followed the others through the now opened entrance into the island's compound, but the hardest part was not letting out a loud sigh of relief once the gate started to close behind them.

" _Espero que el forastero intente escabullirse a traves de los laboratorios_." The second man said, looking back at him. " _El regenerador le hara desear haber recibido un disparo_."

"Uh… _si_." Leon replied, using one of the five Spanish words he actually knew. " _Senor Saddler_."

If the others had been normal people, they probably would have shot him by now, but this answer actually seemed to please the infected men, and they continued on without another word. Leaving the gate and the rocky coast behind, the terrain started to take on a more artificial form, beginning with the ground becoming more even and eventually hard-packed like a road. This must have been the start of the actual compound, but now that the Agent was getting to see how the island was organized, it looked like each facility had its own walled off section.

A single two-floor building was the only occupant of this section, with another gate off in the distance, and Leon figured that he had to start his search somewhere, so he waited until the squad was passing the front door, and then simply stopped walking. The others continued on without noticing the disappearance of their last man, as they had done before, and once they were a safe distance apart, the Agent tried to doorknob. It wasn't locked, probably because the guards didn't think anyone could get past them, especially without being detected… well, they hadn't met Leon Kennedy before, now had they?

Opening the door as quietly as he could, and then closing it behind him, now the Agent was able to let out that long sigh of relief he had been holding in since the gate. It was the only sound to be heard, though, since the building he now found himself inside was deathly quiet. A couple of the lights were on, but most of the illumination came from the sunlight that was trying to sneak in through the small, filthy windows that were up on the ceiling. So there wasn't a ton of light, but enough to see that this place looked more like a factory than anything else.

Dark metal floors, walls, and ceiling, a few directory signs that Leon couldn't read, and not much in this first area besides an abandoned reception desk and a small bathroom that looked like it hadn't been used in a _really_ long time. There was nothing of use to be found, hell, not even any toilet paper left in the bathroom if someone had to go, but one of the Spanish directory signs was mounted on the wall next to a staircase, so the Agent decided to investigate this building further.

Honestly, Ashley could have been anywhere on the island, Leon thought as his boots made a soft _thud-thud-thud_ up toward the second floor. But he had his disguise, as well as a _Thompson .45 SMG_ that he had taken from the guard he had replaced, so the Agent felt that his chances of success were improving… but that didn't make him any less nervous as he reached the top of the stairs.


	52. Chapter 52 Hombre Martillo

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Fifty Two: Hombre Martillo**

There wasn't nearly as much dust in this place as there had been in the abandoned parts of the village and the castle, but it was clear that this mostly metal building didn't receive as much usage as it once had. Reaching the top of the stairs, Leon didn't dare use his flashlight while in disguise as one of the guards, so he relied on the few wall mounted light fixtures that were still working, since there were no more windows after the first hallway junction. This hallway went left and right, with both options looking ominous as hell, so he decided to go right first.

More directory signs that he couldn't read were on the walls, and for a moment the Agent considered learning Spanish when this was all over, but then again after what happened during this mission and also on the last one he had done before Krauser was killed, maybe it was just better to avoid these parts of the world. I mean, seriously, as bad as viruses and zombies were, at least that stuff made sense, while this… this whole ancient parasite thing seemed more like an alien invasion.

" _Quedate callado ahi dentro_." A deep and stern voice said from around the next corner. " _Podras salir en menos de un dia_."

" _No quiero ser parte de tu culto_!" A familiar sounding female voice responded. " _Por favor solo dejame ir a casa!_ "

No, Leon thought as he put his back up against the corner to listen in on the conversation, there was no way it could be that easy. Even though he couldn't understand what the girl was saying, her whiney, high-pitch tones could have only belonged to Ashley Graham, and when the Agent peeked around the corner, he almost couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was her all right, holding onto the bars of a small window on the door she was trapped behind, while talking to a rather large man who was apparently guarding her… the _only one_ guarding her.

This guy was a _beast_ , though; looking like he was wearing an almost completely metal suit of armor that only left his bald head exposed, while also holding not a rifle in his hands… but a big metal sledgehammer. Okay, so he was alone, armed only with a melee weapon, and facing away from Leon with his only vulnerable point exposed. All right, now was probably his best chance to take this guy by surprise, so the Agent took a deep breath in order to relax a little so his disguise would still work.

Instead of sneaking, he walked right around the corner as if he belonged there, keeping his finger on the trigger of his stolen rifle so that the guard could be neutralized quickly once he was close enough. Since he wasn't sneaking, the hammer man heard his footsteps and turned to see who it was… apparently satisfied that Leon was just another guard, and then returning to the conversation with Ashley while the Agent got closer… and closer…

" _Oh entonces hombres grandes, necesitan mas guardias para una nina_?" The young woman said, now looking at him as he approached. " _Todos ustedes van a lamantar esto y_ … Leon?"

Oh no, the Agent thought as he stopped in his tracks… no, no, no, she had _not_ just done that. Unable to understand most of what Ashley was saying, as soon as his name came from her lips, the hammer man growled as he turned around to face him. Raising their weapons at the same time, Leon had to be careful of his aim with the rifle since the young woman's face was right next to his target, so he was only able to get off one shot before his enemy surprised him by tossing the hammer.

 _Wham_! It was a good thing Leon had taken the bullet proof vest from that guard down by the coast, because the next thing he knew the blunt weapon was slamming into his chest, knocking him from his feet. While the bullet he had fired ricocheted harmlessly off the big man's shoulder armor, the force of the hammer sent the Agent sliding across the floor where he stopped against the wall a good distance back down the hallway. Even though the vest had stopped him from getting killed, the Agent was sore to the point of having trouble moving, now groaning and rolling onto his stomach while the guard slowly approached.

Reaching for his rifle, but realizing that it was lying on the floor back where he had been hit, Leon started to grab for his revolver, only to be stopped when a pair of powerful hands grabbed him by the shoulders. _Whack_! Balling up a large fist and slugging him in the stomach at the edge of the vest, the Agent's feet briefly left the ground for a second, but the big man held him in place so that he could rip the vest right of him. As soon as the hammer man discarded the now useless vest, he removed the helmet from Leon's head, laughing a little while dropping it on the floor, and then pushing him back in order to pick up the hammer once again.

Moving and breathing were still difficult, but the Agent managed to duck underneath the sideways swing of the hammer, causing it to dent part of the metal wall instead of his head. While the hammer man finished this attack, Leon picked up the metal helmet and slammed it into the side of the big man's head, but this didn't do much more than annoy him for a second, before the Agent had to dive out of the way once again to avoid the next blow that dented the floor. Scrambling his way down the corridor toward Ashley's cell, Leon managed to grab his rifle again, rolling over and pulling the trigger just as the hammer man was raising up his weapon for the killing blow.

 _Kakka-kakka-kakka_! The Thompson SMG filled the hallway with light and noise as a rapid stream of bullets assaulted the big man like an angry hornet's nest, and although most of them sparked while denting the guard's armor, several of them were able to hit the vulnerable part. This time the hammer man was driven backwards as each high caliber bullet destroyed a small part of his face, allowing the Agent to believe he had won when the rest of his skull collapsed completely… but then he realized that there were no strong light sources in this place to keep the parasite from coming out.

Just like what had happened at the village and inside the castle, there was a splash of foul-smelling liquid as the twitching and pulsating _Plagas_ exposed itself on top of the big man's neck. With this exposure, the hammer man dropped his hammer, now moving toward Leon as if it were a poorly controlled zombie… no longer really in control of more than the most basic functions of the body it occupied, but unfortunately still able to lash out at the Agent with its bladed tendrils.

This time when he pulled the trigger the weapon clicked empty, so the Agent had to drop it and quickly scoot backwards to avoid the blade as it struck the floor. Suddenly his back was up against the door of Ashley's cell, and the parasite was still slowly marching its way toward him, so Leon took out his revolver and aimed at the discolored mass. _Bang! Bang!_ It was pretty easy to hit, and each time the parasite made a kind of high-pitch shrieking noise as it briefly retreated back into the body, but then it just came back out again a couple seconds later.

Maybe if he had a shotgun or something it would have been easier, but all the revolver's bullets did was stun it for a second, so he had to figure out something else… and then he saw the hammer lying on the floor behind the monster. He wasn't sure if it would work as well as the chainsaw had done against Salvador back at the village, but it was all he had, so after shooting the growth one more time, Leon got up and dove past it while it was stunned.

The bladed tendril cut across the sleeve of his shirt as he went past, but the Agent was able to reach the hammer, which was a bit heavier than he imagined… lifting the weapon and swinging it upward just as the parasite was turning around. _Whack_! Another high-pitch shrieking sound when the growth was struck, but this time it didn't recover nearly as quickly from having the whole thing hit at once. It stumbled more than when it was shot, but Leon wasn't about to give it the chance to recover again, so he followed it, raising the hammer up and then bringing it down just as the parasite was coming back out.

A squishing sound echoed throughout the corridor as a spray of foul-smelling liquid was released in all directions, but the good news was that the hammer man didn't recover this time. It's large, metal armored body simply stood there for a few seconds, before slowly falling to its knees, and then finally collapsing to the floor. Letting go of the hammer so that it dropped as well, the Agent leaned against the wall for a second to catch his breath, before recovering the rifle and walking up to the door of Ashley's cell.

"I knew you'd come for me." She said, putting her hand on top of his when he used the bars to rest again. "Are you okay, Leon?"

"Let's just… let's just get you out of there." He replied, still trying to catch his breath while trying the door. "Hey… there's no keyhole… how does this thing open?"

He tried it a couple more times, looking for some kind of release lever or a card reader, or anything, but there just wasn't any way to unlock the door, at least none that he could see. When questioned about how they put her inside, Ashley mentioned that the door just seemed to lock itself a few seconds after the man who brought her there closed it. Okay, the Agent thought, that could have meant that the lock was electronic and that it was controlled from somewhere else in the building, like… maybe a guard station or a security office, or even just a circuit panel on the wall somewhere… yeah, probably would have found it if he had gone left instead of right at that first junction.

"All right, I'm gonna go find the switch." He said, groaning from the pain in his torso. "Just try to… just try to stay quiet, and whatever you do, don't… don't open the door until I get back, don't… don't let them know its unlocked if anyone shows up."

"Leon be careful." The young woman said before he stepped away from the door. "It kills me every time I see them hurt you."

Well, Leon thought, then maybe she shouldn't yell out his name while he was trying to sneak up on the guards… but instead of saying that, he just nodded before reloading his weapons, and then starting back down the hallway toward that first junction. Now that he had made so much noise, if anyone heard the commotion then it was only a matter of time before more guards showed up.


	53. Chapter 53 El Regenerador

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Fifty Three: El Regenerador**

After passing back by the first junction he had come to and heading down the other hallway, Leon turned the latch on another metal door, opening it up into a place that didn't look anything like the rest of the building. Instead of industrial concrete and metal like everywhere else, this place had tile-floors with white walls and ceiling panels sort of like the ones that could be found inside of a hospital. None of the lights were working when he flipped the switch, though, so the Agent was forced to rely on his compact flashlight once again.

Sweeping the narrow beam back and forth across his new surroundings while carefully moving into the long room, Leon realized that the power to this place must have been off completely, since the rows of complex medical equipment and monitors were all plugged in, but nothing was on. Unused patient beds were there, too, making him thins that this was some kind of laboratory, since _Los Iluminados_ didn't seem like the kind of group to offer _health care_ to their members… hey, wait a second…

Just before his death, Luis had been trying to tell the Agent about the process for removing immature parasites from an infected host, and that the dark haired man's lab hadn't been at the castle, so… was this it? Was the big complicated machine for removing the parasites in this very room? Hmmm… didn't look that way, at least from what he could see with the flashlight beam… maybe it would get easier once the power was back on, and…

"Holy shit!" Leon exclaimed, jumping backwards at what he saw next.

There was a loud _crash_ when one of the beds fell over after he backed into it, making the Agent even more nervous while quickly raising the rifle so he could aim at… he wasn't even sure what he was looking at. Trying to catch his breath while looking down the sights of the weapon, he started to calm down after realizing that this gray-colored… _thing_ wasn't immediately attacking him. It was taller than a man as it lie sprawled across one of the beds, with muscular arms and legs that were hooked up to the deactivated monitors as if it were actually a patient.

Genderless, and with slightly elongated fingers that were pointed at the end sort of like the start of claws, the most frightening feature of this thing was its face, or rather its oversized mouth that was full of long sharp teeth… you know what, fuck this thing. _Kakka-kakka_! Firing a quick burst with the rifle, a few holes appeared in the monster's face as the bullets tore right through, but there was no reaction, so… did that mean it was dead? Everything else in this whole region had attacked him on sight, so if it did nothing after being shot, then Leon was satisfied that there was no danger.

"Gotta get out of here." The Agent said to himself, scanning the room again. "Where the hell's the damn power box?"

Moving a lot faster now, he continued passing by the rows of beds and equipment until reaching the far end of the lab, where a reinforced door was there to greet him. It was cold to the touch, and had a thick rubber seal between it and the doorframe, the purpose of which was immediately understood as soon as Leon turned the latch. This next room must have had its own power source, since it was freezing inside, thanks to the cooling system that was very loudly blowing out its own personal blizzard. The tips of his fingers were instantly cold, and his breath was visible, but these complaints were quickly forgotten when the Agent saw what the freezer was used for.

One of the beds had been rolled into the center of the freezing room and just left there, with one of the villagers lying face down; a look of horror and agony forever frozen onto his face, but unable to do anything about it because he was strapped down. The reason for this agony was obviously because of the spider-like parasite that was halfway extracted from his back… hey, this thing didn't look like the formless blobs that Leon had seen sticking out from the infected people's necks in darkened areas… this thing actually looked like the images he had seen carved into the relief walls down in the castle's mines.

Was this what a fully grown parasite looked like in real life? The legs that had been removed from the villager's back were propped up with wires as if this sickening display had been used as some kind of model for the research going on, but what was the point? Luis had said that he had found a way to remove immature parasites from a host, but what was this? An unsuccessful attempt to extract an adult? Apparently, this attempt hadn't gone so well, especially for the villager… probably died during the procedure… so basically he and Ashley were screwed if they didn't act fast.

No strange looking machines were in sight, just a bunch of bagged samples on the racks near the walls… but there _was_ a large metal access panel right near where the cold air was blowing out. Realizing again just how cold he had become, Leon let out a labored breath as he shielded his face with his arms while walking through the wind, and then having to breathe on his hands a couple times to make his fingers able to get the thing open. The Agent had to smack the frost off, but once the hatch was open he saw that it was in fact the power panel he was looking for.

Examining the circuit breakers inside, the Agent discovered that almost all of them were shut off, with the exceptions probably being the ones to the freezer and the few lights that were on in the rest of the place. He couldn't read the assignments of each breaker, since like with everything else, they were handwritten in Spanish, so Leon just started flipping all of them to the _on_ position, resulting in the lights coming on inside the freezer. Hopefully that meant that main power was on so that the door to Ashley's cell could be opened, but there was only one way to find out.

Breathing on his hands again as he walked toward the door, the Agent was happy to get back into the warmer lab, especially since the ceiling lights were on now, allowing him to see the entire room… but something was wrong. The lights were on, and all of the medical monitors and equipment were powered up again, but there was an odd sound among the beeping and humming of the devices. It was kind of like a breathing sound, but rapid, and also kind of like hissing at the same time, as if whatever was making the sound wasn't sure which noise to make.

"Oh, crap." Leon whispered once he saw the source. "You have _got_ to be shitting me."

He hadn't noticed it at first, since it was standing in the shadows, but then it moved, its whole body shaking and vibrating like it was hopped up on amphetamines or something, and making that sound while large amounts of drool ran down from between its teeth. _Crash_! The sensors on its body were still hooked up to the machines next to the bed it had been lying on a few minutes ago, causing the machine to fall to the floor when it started walking after the Agent, but Leon didn't plan on allowing it to get very far.

 _Kakka-kakka-kakka_! Raising his rifle and pulling the trigger, once again the bullets tore easily through its flesh, but the monster barely twitched in reaction. It just kept slowly walking toward him, breathing and shaking with each step like it didn't even notice the bullets that were blowing right through its face and chest. But then it happened; the monster suddenly made a loud kind of coughing sound, stumbling backwards as a large part of its stomach exploded in reaction to one of the bullets.

 _Yes_! Leon thought as he reloaded the rifle. For a moment he had been getting worried there, but apparently it just took putting enough bullets into the thing for… wait a minute, what? He had just finished reloading, ready to start shooting the monster again, only to discover that in the time he had been reloading, the creature's wound was almost fully healed. Before his very eyes, the open wound on the monster's stomach was closing up as if someone was rewinding a _VHS Tape_ , and soon there was no evidence of it being shot at all.

"No, no, no." The Agent whispered, aiming the rifle again as it got closer. "No, no, no."

Filling the room with flashes of light and noise when he pulled the trigger again, Leon aimed for that same spot on its torso again, but this time nothing happened no matter how many times it was hit. Finally the rifle clicked empty, and the Agent couldn't quite find a curse word powerful enough to convey how he felt when he realized that he didn't have any more ammo for it. Meanwhile, the abomination was still getting closer, so he tossed the now useless rifle at it, followed by picking up a large monitor over his head and tossing that, too.

The monitor made the creature stumble back a bit upon impact, but otherwise didn't hurt it, so Leon backed away, taking out his revolver and shooting at different parts of the monster's body out of desperation. _Bang! Bang!_ Aiming at its face, its stomach, and one of its legs, the third shot he fired had some luck when the abomination's entire leg exploded, causing it to cough again when it fell over onto the nearby bed. The bed fell over, taking the monster with it to the floor, but its leg almost immediately started growing back even though it was shot a few more times.

Using this moment to try and escape, the Agent tried to make a run for it, only to be stopped when the monster slashed at him with its claws while diving into his path, knocking over another bed and more machines. This abomination's movements were clearly not impeded by the loss of limbs, so running away wasn't an option, leaving his only choice to reload the revolver and hope to find more weak points in the thing's body. Only problem was, there was no way to tell where they were, and it was like the weak spot kept changing after each hit.

Well, if Leon was going to do something, he was going to have to come up with it fast, because in only a few second the monster was already starting to stand up on its brand new leg, forcing the Agent to start backing away once again as soon as it started walking toward him.


	54. Chapter 54 Getaway Car

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Fifty Four: Getaway Car**

 _Slam_! Bullets just weren't working on this regenerating nightmare, leaving Leon with no choice other than to retreat back into the freezer, slamming the door in the monster's face just before it would have reached him. The door opened inward into the cold room, so the Agent had to keep his back against it with all his strength to keep the abomination from getting in. If it did, there was nowhere else for him to run, and… and well it was best to just keep the thing out. Unfortunately, this monster was a lot stronger than he was, and the floor was coated with frost, so it wasn't long before he lost this fight.

Suddenly sliding along with the door as it was forced open, the wind was knocked out of Leon when he found himself slammed between the door and the wall, but instead of coming right for him, the monster went right past as it stomped its way into the cold room, as if it didn't realize where he had gone. This was literally his only chance for survival, so the Agent scrambled his way around the door, hearing the monster growl as it spotted him, but cutting off the sound by slamming the door in its face once again as soon as he was out.

Falling onto his hands and knees and scrambling away, Leon thought that it would come after him again, but instead the monster simply banged on the door from the other side, as if it couldn't figure out that it was supposed to _pull_ it open. The Agent couldn't help but laugh a little when he realized that his life had been saved by a door-hinge, but he didn't want to wait around for it to figure it out, so Leon pulled himself to his feet and had to lean on some of the medical machines as he headed toward the door.

Briefly considering picking up the rifle again, he realized there was no point since taking more ammo from another guard would mean he would simply get _another_ rifle in the process, so Leon didn't stop until he was back through the metal door, and back into the main building where all of the lights had come on. It was a good thing that sunlight was coming in through the small windows, or any guards outside might have noticed the lights and come to investigate, but for the moment it looked like the building was all his.

There hadn't been a special release lever anywhere for Ashley's cell, at least not one that he saw, so hopefully the door would just be open now that power was restored. Moving past the junction, and down the corridor toward where he had faced the hammer man, the Agent couldn't help sighing with relief when the previously red light above the door was now glowing green. Oh good, he thought as he walked up to it, for once he was going to get a break… _yes_ , the door clicked open when he pushed on it, allowing Leon to walk into… a store room?

All this security for a storage room? Maybe he could have understood it if the room was filled with weapons and ammo, but this one was stocked with more medical machines like the ones back in the lab, and… and that was about it. Some movement caught his eye, and then the Agent watched as a frightened Ashley Graham slowly came around from behind one of the storage shelves… her eyes widening, and a smile forming on her face just before she ran up to him.

"Oh Leon, I knew you would come back for me!" The young woman exclaimed, throwing her arms around him. "The guy who brought me here said you wouldn't, but I just knew you would!"

"Ow!" The Agent groaned when she squeezed him. "Ah… my ribs!"

The punishment that Leon had taken during the last nearly twenty four hours was rapidly catching up with him, and each time the adrenaline wore off from the latest attack, he was left feeling even weaker and more fatigued than the last time. Hell, except for a few random bouts of being knocked unconscious, the Agent hadn't gotten any sleep at all, and it was lucky that Ashley was there to help him sit down on one of the boxes, or else he might have simply collapsed onto the floor. The young woman left his side for a few seconds, long enough for him to start drifting off, but then he was startled away when she returned while putting something to his lips.

It was a bottle of water, which Leon eagerly accepted since the last time he had eaten or drank anything was back at the lake house when Tobias had given him that MRE. Ashley also had a little bit of food, which she explained that the guards had given her before locking the door. It was bland and probably well past its expiry date, but at this point he was ready to eat just about anything. The taste was God-awful, but after putting some food and water into his stomach, suddenly the Agent wasn't feeling quite so close to death… maybe most of his pain had been because of dehydration.

"Leon, you look terrible." Ashley said, putting her hand on his forehead. "You need to rest for a while."

"No, Ashley, we need to get out of here." Leon replied, trying and failing to stand up. "We have to go before… before someone comes to check on you."

She asked him how they were going to get anywhere with him like this, and it was a fair enough question, but the clock was ticking, and who even knew how much time there was left before the parasites in their bodies matured to the point where they could assert control? No, they had to get out of there, even if it meant him having to lean on her in order to be able to walk properly. Yeah, that was working… she was really small so his weight was difficult for her to support, but so far they were able to move, at least as far as the storage room door.

"We have to get back to the coast." He suggested after pulling the door open. "I've got a boat there, and we can use it to get back to the mainland."

This was definitely the most logical plan, but it was pretty dangerous as well, since the Agent hadn't exactly dealt with all of the guards at the checkpoint. Aw man, those guards were still there, as were the ones patrolling around the island's different areas, and somehow Leon didn't think it would be easy to sneak Ashley through their checkpoint… or even himself for that matter, even if he _was_ able to infiltrate another patrol. No, in his current condition there had to be another way to get out… not that they could leave before finding Luis's machine… God damn it, there was always _something_!

"There's not a lot of time, Ashley." Leon continued as they stepped out into the corridor. "We have to find the lab that Luis was working out of… that's where his machine is… but I don't know where to look, and there's no time for a blind search."

"When I was brought in, it looked like all the buildings were labeled." The young woman explained. "If we can find a map, or just get close to each building, then I can read the signs so you don't have to search through each one."

This was… actually a good idea, but the problem was still somehow sneaking Ashley around, since all of the guards would be looking for her… not that it was hard to spot a blonde girl in a land full of brunettes. Well, before anything else, the first thing they had to do was get out of this building before that regenerating monster figured out how to pull open a door, so the two of them headed back the way the Agent had originally come, heading back down the stairs into the abandoned lobby where he took a look out the door's small window.

Daylight was in full effect now, with the morning sun shining brightly down on the island, and more importantly the whole area where the two of them needed to sneak through. Another patrol of three armed guards passed by, walking along the edge of the road that passed in front of the building, just as they had done when Leon was following them, and he was trying to figure out how to best get through undetected, when it happened… the muffled sound of a vehicle reached his ears just as a large transport truck came into view. Not only did it come into view, but it got closer until coming to a stop right in front of the door, where the engine cut off, and the Agent gasped when a couple guards jumped out.

"Quick!" He whispered urgently, pulling Ashley toward the abandoned desk. "Down! Down!"

Working together, the two of them managed to duck down behind the desk just before the door was opened, allowing four armed guards to enter the building. The Agent put a finger to his lips for her to be quiet, and the young woman nodded, but thankfully the guards paid no attention to the first floor as they made their way up the stairs, probably to check on Ashley. It was only a matter of time before they found the hammer man's body, so motioning for her to get up as soon as the guards were out of sight, Leon was forced to make his move.

 _Bang_! Drawing his revolver as soon as the door was pushed open, the .45 round had no trouble going right through the truck's windshield and hitting the driver, who thankfully wasn't wearing a helmet, right in the face. Now they really had to hurry, since there was no way that no one heard that shot, so Leon opened the door and pulled the stunned driver out of his seat, grabbing his rifle and ammo before climbing into the truck. So much for stealth, the Agent thought as an alarm started to go off while Ashley was getting into the passenger seat, and he stomped on the gas just as the other guards were running out to investigate.

Bullets could be heard ricocheting off the old truck's metal frame as they started down the road, quickly leaving the running guards behind, allowing him to drive unobstructed… at least until the young woman next to him gasped in surprise. She didn't say anything, instead just looking wide-eyed while pointing at the side view mirror, where Leon was able to see the truck that was now chasing them. More bullets bounced off the truck's frame, including one that punched through the back window, making Ashley scream as they ducked down.

"Can you drive a stick?" The Agent asked as more gunfire made them duck again. "If you can, switch places!"

It was a good thing that the young woman was so small built, making it easy for her to slide right across Leon's lap into the driver's seat, keeping the vehicle moving while he picked up the rifle. _Kakka-kakka_! _Kakka-kakka_! Twisting around and shooting through the partially broken back window, the Agent only had time to fire a few bullets, and not very accurately before having to duck back down to avoid the returned fire from their pursuers. He was trying to hit the driver through the windshield like he had done to get this truck, but most of his shots hit the truck's metal frame.

"Hold on, we're turning!" Ashley yelled. "Hold onto something!"

Suddenly she pulled the parking brake handle, causing their truck's tires to squeal as the whole vehicle gracefully slid around a ninety-degree turn to avoid another checkpoint where more armed guards were shooting at them. Once around the corner, the young woman released the brake, and downshifted to give them a better start with getting back up to speed, but the truck chasing them wasn't so lucky. While trying to turn, they ended up sliding straight forward into the checkpoint, running over some of the guards, and giving Leon a moment to rest.

"Ashley, that was amazing!" He exclaimed as they put more distance between them and their pursuers. "You just… you just _drifted_ in a damn _transport truck_!"

"I dated a stock-car racer for a while during Freshman Year." She replied, both of them looking back to see if the truck was still coming. "He thought it was… oh, shit!"

Looking forward to see what was going on, Leon could only gasp as another truck came charging down the road toward them, accelerating at full speed… and there was nowhere to go to avoid it.


	55. Chapter 55 Separated Again

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Fifty Five: Separated Again**

At the last second as the oncoming transport truck was about to hit them head-on, Ashley turned the wheel to the left as hard as she could, causing the back end to swing around. The other truck must have been carrying something flammable, since there was an explosion almost instantly after the collision, but at least the impact now happened to the back of their vehicle instead of the front. The last thing about this that Leon remembered was watching as the concrete wall of the nearest building got a lot closer, and suddenly he was lying on the floor on his back.

He could smell smoke and hear the crackling of fire while blinking his eyes several times to bring them into focus, realizing then that he was now _inside_ the building, while the burning, mostly destroyed truck blocked the way out. There were voices, too, all from outside and sounding angry and frustrated, most likely since the fire and wreckage was keeping them from continuing the pursuit. Ashley was lying on the concrete floor near him, and it was a good thing that they hadn't been wearing their seatbelts, because they would have probably been burned alive before they even woke up if the two of them hadn't been thrown clear.

"Ashley?" The Agent called, coughing out some smoke while crawling over to her. "Ashley, are you all right?"

She was breathing, moving around a little in response to his voice, but the young woman had gotten pretty banged up, herself. Her elbows and knees were scraped up, and she was covered with the same smoke and soot that was all over Leon, but after everything that had been happening for the past day, he supposed that she was pretty lucky. Well, so much for her having a chance to read the signs outside each building, and now there was no way to effectively search for Luis's laboratory, since the Agent had no idea how far the truck had taken them toward the center of the island.

The yelling outside continued, along with the sound of something moving, followed by a scream of anger and pain when whoever was digging toward them got burned. Maybe the parasites weren't too fond of fire, but either way it was only a matter of time before the flames were put out, so once again he was forced to keep Ashley moving. She needed some help getting to her feet, not that _he_ didn't, and then the two of them kind of leaned on each other while trying to get out of the smoke-filled room.

Most of the visible doors had been destroyed, leaving only one left at the far end of the room, so together they rushed over toward it as quickly as they could, coughing more and more as the flames produced more smoke. That first breath of fresh air actually made Leon cough more when they entered the next room and closed the door behind them, with Ashley feeling about the same way, but at least there wasn't any smoke in this part of the building. What there _was_ , however, was the slow sound of someone clapping their hands.

"Wonderful, _wonderful_ , most exciting." Saddler's voice said from across the room. "You continue to beat the odds and amaze me, Mr. Kennedy."

Still leaning on the closed door, the Agent hung his head a little while groaning in frustration, before taking out his revolver while spinning around. Okay, maybe _spinning_ wasn't the right word, considering how hurt and exhausted Leon was, but he did manage to turn around and aim the weapon at his robed enemy… just in time for incredible pain to start shooting through the Agent's whole body when Saddler held up his hand like he had done back at the castle.

"So your next trick is to scream in pain, before collapsing like a house of cards?" The robed man asked, chuckling a little as Leon did just that. "I have to admit, I didn't see _that_ one coming."

"Stop it!" Ashley yelled as the Agent writhed on the concrete floor. "Leave him alone!"

Suddenly the young woman reached down and picked up the revolver, aiming it at Saddler, but then stopping when he held up his other hand. Instead of convulsing and screaming like Leon was doing, however, Ashley just got a blank expression on her face while the weapon fell from her hands. The robed man then beckoned to her, causing the young woman to start slowly walking toward him as if she were hypnotized, and during all of this Saddler's grin just kept getting bigger.

Leon wanted to call out to her, to somehow get Ashley to snap out of it, but the pain gripping his whole body was so great that he could only get out an unintelligible scream that lasted until she had gotten past him. As if she already knew where Saddler wanted her to go, the young woman mindlessly went through the door behind him, while the Agent could do absolutely nothing until the pain vanished when Saddler lowered his hand. Suddenly Leon could move and breathe again, not that the lingering soreness was going to let him just jump to his feet, especially when the robed man stopped him from getting up by walking over and pressing his foot down into the Agent's back.

"Oh no, Mr. Kennedy, suddenly things are not going your way." Saddler said, chuckling to himself as he pressed down harder. "With each passing moment the parasites inside you get closer to maturing, making it harder and harder for you to resist my will until, well… until you simply no longer want to."

Leon was about to say something back, but was interrupted when the robed man lifted his foot just long enough to pull his leg back and kick the Agent hard enough in the side to send him flying into the wall. Bouncing off the concrete, and then groaning after hitting the floor, Leon could only lay there while Saddler walked away. He could still move, but not fast enough to get the revolver before the robed man followed Ashley through the other door, leaving him alone once again.

For several minutes the Agent just lay there on the floor, trying his hardest not to pass out, and eventually he was able to get himself to a sitting position. He tried to contact Hunnigan again, even though he already knew that there would be no response, thanks to the signal jammer that was being used… you know, one would think that the President would send some backup for him after being out of contact for so long, but apparently that was just too much to ask.

Now that Leon was alone, this was the first chance he had gotten to look at the features of this room, that that there was much to talk about, just a few pieces of discarded wooden furniture, and more of those tiny windows that allowed the sunlight to come in. Given that he had come in through the wall, there was no way of knowing if this was a lobby toward the front of the building, or maybe an unused back room that nobody cared about anymore, sort of like the lobby in the building where he had found Ashley.

Whatever this place was, he needed to get on his feet and find the young woman again before the parasites inside her matured… and yeah, the hardest part about all this was simply getting to his feet. The Agent had to crawl a bit, at least as far as the nearest intact table, which he used to help him stand up, before limping a bit as he headed toward the door. Pushing it open, Leon realized that this place must have been some kind of factory a long time ago, since the door led to a metal grated catwalk that was above a really wide room with several rows of heavy machinery.

Like the medical lab, there was no power going to the machines below, or the dust-covered light fixtures up above, but there were plenty of those same small windows along the walls and ceiling. The catwalk led him to a kind of observation platform in the center of the factory, probably where the foreman would stand so that he could see all the work that was going on below. Aside from another walkway up above, and the before mentioned machines, there was nothing of interest in this place, so Leon started toward the walkway on the other side of the platform, when a noise reached his ears.

What was that, he wondered? Freezing in place, the Agent strained his ears to tell whether or not someone was very quietly sneaking up behind him… listening as hard as he could, while at the same time subtly reaching for his revolver. Regardless of whether anyone was there, this latest surge of adrenaline was waking him up, allowing Leon to move much faster while drawing the weapon and turning around to see… that nothing was there.

 _Clunk_! His head turning upward after hearing the sound of something smacking against metal, the Agent jumped backwards just in time to avoid being landed on by someone who was leaping down from above… someone with a knife. Slashing upward immediately after the first attack, Leon's hand would have bene cut if his assailant's blade hadn't struck the revolver instead, sending the weapon flying from his grip. Another slash left a stinging sensation when the very tip of the knife scratched against his face, although it would have been worse if he hadn't leaned back to avoid it… which turned out to be a mistake.

As soon as the Agent was leaning backwards, his attacker kicked him in the stomach, causing him to lose his balance and stumble backwards into the platform's guardrail hard enough to slightly dent it. This assailant was relentless, attacking again almost immediately by stabbing downward, but this time when Leon stepped out of the way he drew his own knife, forcing his attacker to back off after receiving a small cut of his own across the chest.

"Heh… not bad, Leon." A familiar voice said as his assailant stepped backwards into the light coming in from one of the windows. "And here I thought you might have gone soft after South America."

He was dressed in fatigues similar to the guards Leon had seen around the island, but standing out due to his short blonde hair and red beret, not to mention his distinctly _American_ accent. Just when the Agent started to think that this place couldn't surprise him anymore, this knife-wielding man just came out of nowhere, but Leon was pretty sure that he would have recognized the voice and movements of his old mentor, even without being able to see his face.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me." Leon said, trying to catch his breath. "Krauser?"


	56. Chapter 56 Jack Krauser

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Fifty Six: Jack Krauser**

"You look surprised to see me, comrade." Krauser continued with a laugh that sounded almost disappointed. "Let me guess, you were told I died in a helicopter crash, right? Or maybe it was a heart attack during routine surgery? But then there's also my favorite; tragically killed by an unknown assailant during a home invasion."

Leon was definitely surprised to see this man, the one who had taught him most of the unarmed and knife fighting skills that he had picked up in the years that had passed since Raccoon City. Memories of their last mission together, the incident in South America, were now flashing through the Agent's mind, making him remember what a good friend the blond man had been, and a dedicated Soldier. Something was different now… there was a harsh, angry look in his eyes, and on top of that he would have never expected his old mentor to attack him with a knife.

"Helicopter crash." Leon answered as the two of them started to slowly circle around the platform. "All right, so you're alive, the government's made mistakes before… so where have you been for the last few years, and… what the hell are you doing _here_?"

Instead of answering, Krauser lunged forward with a stab, forcing the Agent to lean backwards to avoid it, but allowing the blond man to give him a small cut across the forearm. Krauser lunged again, but this time Leon deflected the blade with his own, staggering his old mentor enough for him to swing his leg around for a roundhouse kick, but the blond man simply kept stepping backwards to avoid it.

"At this _exact_ moment, what I'm doing here is killing you." Krauser explained, smirking at the blood dripping down from his opponent's arm. "See, Saddler's smart, and he's powerful, but he's paranoid as hell, especially when it comes to Americans… so every now and then I have to prove my loyalty."

"Are you… are you _serious_ right now?" The Agent asked, keeping his blade ready. "You're actually _working_ with these people? But why? You must've seen what they're doing here, to their own people, so just… why?"

Now his old mentor started to get visibly angry, a scowl forming on his face as he explained that the mission was supposed to be easy; he had traveled halfway around the world to get what Saddler wanted, and covered his tracks so that _no one_ could have followed, but somehow Leon had managed it, which caused the leader of this place to think it was all a trick… some kind of complicated ploy to expose the location of _Los Illuminados_ to the US Government, and the blond man had to jump through some hoops to prove that it wasn't.

"I don't know how the _fuck_ you tracked me here, comrade, but you ruined _everything_." Krauser hissed, slashing at him with the knife again, forcing Leon to back off. "I was _this_ close to getting the sample, but then you started _bulldozing_ your way through the village, so I had to shoot down your helicopter to prove I wasn't helping you."

As shocked and horrified as the Agent was to find out that his friend was a traitor, at least now it made sense how someone in this part of the world had been able to shoot down a helicopter in the middle of a rainstorm at night with a rocket launcher. Still, even beyond that, Leon was only now realizing what the blond man's other words had meant… the part about him going halfway around the world to get something from Saddler, and then covering his tracks so that no one could follow… no one except Tobias Liquid.

"Krauser, please… _please_ tell me you're _not_ the one who kidnapped Ashley." The Agent replied. "Tell me you didn't do that."

"You're _damn right_ I did that." His old mentor growled, the rage returning to his eyes. "I served my country for years… _years_ before you were even old enough to wear the uniform, and what was my reward? Getting kicked out after my arm got hurt, that's what. So yeah, I kidnapped old Graham's _precious_ little daughter, and my arm was working just fine when I emptied an _entire_ stun-gun battery into those big, fake tits of hers!"

Now Krauser came at him again, this time so angry that his eyes almost looked red for a second, and with more strength and speed than Leon knew he could have. Deflecting the first two cuts with his own blade, the Agent gasped when the tip of the blond man's knife raked across his leg, leaving him open for another cut across the back of his fingers, causing Leon to have to toss his knife into his other hand so not to drop it. Not that this did any good, when Krauser spun around and slammed his heel into the Agent's chest.

There was no avoiding this one, Leon took the blow full force, knocking the wind out of him as the world tilted until he landed hard onto his back. Before he could do anything, the blond man kicked the knife out of his hand, but this gave the Agent an opening to grab onto his old mentor's leg, immobilizing Krauser just long enough for Leon to give him a solid kick of his own to the stomach. The platform vibrated a little as the blond man fell, and now neither of them had a blade as they got up.

Since he had not been getting his ass kicked around the entire region for the past day, Krauser was able to get up faster, grabbing onto the Agent and kneeing him in the stomach. For someone who had a crippling arm injury in South America, his old mentor was doing a pretty good job of restraining him while he kneed him in the stomach again and again, followed by a painful elbow to the back, and finally an upward punch that sent Leon's head tilting backwards as he fell onto his back once again. This time there was no quick recovery… or any recovery at all, since the Agent found himself unable to get up.

"I don't care what happens to you, Ashley, _or_ America." Krauser continued, picking up his knife from the platform. "This world is sick, and _Umbrella_ is the only way it can be fixed, so _die_!"

Leon had no way to reach his knife, but he had landed next to something else… his _revolver_! Grabbing it while his old mentor leapt toward him while bringing the knife down with both hands, the Agent tried to shoot him, but couldn't aim fast enough. However, the blade got stuck inside of the trigger well, allowing Leon to use the weapon as a pry-bar to keep himself from being stabbed. Unfortunately, Krauser was a lot stronger then he was, and the blade was slowly pushed down closer and closer, with the Agent's arms shaking to the point where they were about to give…

 _Bang_! The sound of a gunshot filled the empty factory, and then sparks flew when the knife was knocked right out of the blond man's hands, forcing him to back off when the two of them saw where the shot came from. Their assailant was standing on the upper level walkway, looking down at them while keeping the dot of her pistol's laser sight tracked in the center of Krauser's chest.

"What the hell are you doing?!" The blond man demanded. "We're supposed to kill him on sight, you stupid bitch!"

"Sorry to spoil your fun, _Jack_." Ada Wong replied, adjusting her aim so that the red dot moved up onto his forehead. "But we're all better off if Leon keeps breathing… even _you_ … so why don't you be a good little boy, and go lick Saddler's boots… you're actually _good_ at that."

Krauser growled, starting to take a step forward as if he were going to attack her, but then stopped after remembering the laser dot on his head. So he growled something about the Agent not being able to hide behind a woman forever, and then he did a surprisingly graceful backflip over the platform's railing so that he vanished down into the darkness of the unused factory. Leon could hear him running away, but was too busy struggling to get up, to focus on anything besides grabbing onto the guardrail.

"I'm sensing a little bad blood between you boys." Ada continued. "I don't know what you did to piss him off, but he's probably dumb enough to come after you again, so watch your back."

"I don't know what happened with him, either, but thanks for the save." The Agent replied, pulling himself up to a kneeling position. "And speaking of what happened, isn't it about time you told me what _you're_ doing here… Ada?"

There was no response, so he looked up and sighed with frustration when he saw that the walkway where she had been standing was empty. Well, this was just great, he thought, groaning while using the guardrail to help him stand; the dark haired woman was gone again, Saddler only had about a _million years_ of a head-start to get away with Ashley, and now _Jack Krauser_ of all people was trying to kill him for reasons that were only partially understood. God damn, if this wasn't the most frustrating mission he had ever…

Suddenly Leon's arm gave out, causing him to hit his head on the guardrail on the way back down to the platform, where he just laid there for a while in a kind of daze. Making one more attempt to get up, the Agent only managed to reach a partial sitting position before the last of his muscles gave out, leaving him only able to breathe in and out while looking up at the sunlight that was coming in through the small windows of the ceiling. He only closed his eyes for a second, getting startled when he saw that the sun had moved to a different position in the sky… aw crap, he must have passed out again… had to get up and… save…

But he just couldn't, it was like his whole body was on strike, and now… and now Leon could hear what sounded like footsteps coming toward him on the walkway. Who was it? Had Krauser returned to finish him off? Whoever it was, they were grabbing him by the ankle, and now the Agent could feel himself being dragged across the grated floor while unable to stop himself from closing his eyes once again.


	57. Chapter 57 Control Tower

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Fifty Seven: Control Tower**

For a while there was nothing; no sound, no light, just darkness and silence that was actually pretty peaceful… yeah, it felt like forever had passed since Leon was actually able to get some rest, so it was actually kind of annoying when his eyes started to open. Everything was blurry at first, just a bright light that hurt to look at, but after blinking a few times he realized that it was just the daylight coming in through the windows across from his bed.

His bed? The Agent was confused as he looked around, startled by the presence of beeping heart monitors and other medical equipment while he, himself was lying in a patient bed. His first thought was a moment of fear at the possibility of being back in that lab with the regenerating monster, but then he remembered that there were no windows in that place, so… was this a _real_ hospital? The machines he was hooked to were all working, and off in the distance Leon could see cars driving down the road out the window, meaning that he couldn't have been in rural Spain any longer.

"Hey buddy, you okay with this?" The older man in the next bed asked, pointing up toward the TV. " _Scooby-Doo's_ on, but we can find something else if you want."

Leon didn't care what was on, just sighing with relief when it finally dawned on him that he was back in America. The mission must have succeeded, since he wasn't facing a firing squad, so the Agent just lay back in the bed, which was much more comfortable than passing out on the floor somewhere, and was about to go back to sleep, when the door to his room opened. A squeaking sound came next as the medicine cart with everyone's prescriptions was wheeled in by a nurse, and… and oh wow, she was _gorgeous_.

Slender built, wearing white heels and a classical nurse's uniform, her long black hair seemed to flow behind her as she walked in, with both Leon and his roommate swooning a little when her incredible smile seemed to light up the room even more than the sunlight. The nurse reached his roommate first, with her happily declaring that it was time for _afternoon pills_ , before handing the love-struck older man his medicine and a small cup of water, but then his roommate turned red in the face when she gave him a kiss on top of the head.

"Marry me, Goddess." The older man said.

"Aw, that's sweet." She replied, holding up her hand to show her wedding ring. "But I've already got a husband."

It was kind of disheartening to find out that the hottest nurse on the planet was married, but then again… she looked kind of familiar. Once she was done with his roommate, the nurse pushed the cart over to him, politely saying good afternoon, before starting to hum a song as she looked for his prescription. Yeah, her voice was pretty familiar, too, but at least he was able to identify the song she was humming… it was _Breathless_ by _The Coors_. The Agent was about to use that knowledge to start a conversation, when he finally recognized her… causing his heart monitor to start beeping rapidly, especially when he saw that her nametag said _G. Liquid_.

"Gillette!" Leon exclaimed, feeling a knot form in his stomach as he tried to scoot away, only to discover that he was suddenly strapped down. "No! You can't be… no!"

"Hi, Leon." Tobias's wife said happily, smiling as she sat on the bed next to him. "Do you like the outfit? I'm an _angel of mercy_. Time for your medicine."

With that, she took in a deep breath; with the Agent's heart monitor beeping even faster when he saw the cloud of black spores gathering in her mouth… the same spores that infected everyone onboard the Starlight. Flailing around desperately, Leon shrieked like a frightened child, somehow managing to release himself from the straps as he fell to the floor, still screaming when he was able to sit up, and… discovering that everything around him was now different.

The room had changed; the beds and monitors replaced with a tiny room that had windows on all sides, allowing him to see that the sun was going down, but at least Gillette wasn't there. Another dream, he thought, although unlike the previous ones involving Claire Redfield and Anette Birkin, seeing the black haired woman again was nothing but a nightmare. Safe now, Leon thought, trying to get back up onto the metal couch he had fallen from while getting his bearings.

"Yes, that's him screaming in the background, and _no_ I'm not torturing him." Another familiar voice said. "His mother told me he got beat up all the way through school, so he probably just had a nightmare about getting hung up on the flagpole or something."

That voice belonged to Tobias Liquid, and he was standing on the other side of the room with his hood and mask off, speaking into the mounted microphone of an old communication system. Turning to look out the windows again, the Agent was able to see that they were really high up above everything else on the island, so what was this, some kind of flight tower? Everything down below looked like it was under construction, but the last thing he remembered was being in that factory with Krauser, so… how had he gotten there?

"You just make sure you hold up your end of the deal, sweetheart." The hooded man continued. "And don't even think about dicking me over, or your little boyfriend's well-being is gonna be the least of your worries."

Taking off the headset he was wearing, and turning around, Leon was never happy about seeing this person, but if he absolutely had to make the choice, it was better to deal with Tobias than Gillette. Beginning with a snide comment about how long the Agent was sleeping for, he explained to Leon that he had found him unconscious inside the factory and brought him to this place, since none of the guards around the island seemed very interested in it. The hooded man had also tracked Ashley this far, but chose not to continue while the Agent was unconscious.

"I told you, kid, your safety is my top priority, even above Ashley." Tobias explained. "It's a good thing I found another way to get here after your girlfriend sunk the other boat, or else _who knows_ what awful monsters might have found you?"

"Everything was fine until I got jumped by Krauser." Leon replied, rubbing his eyes to bring them back into focus. "But thanks, now we gotta… we gotta find Ashley."

The Agent started to stand up, but the hooded man pushed him back down onto the couch, informing him that he wasn't going anywhere until his strength was back up. Tobias had taken the liberty of bandaging all of his wounds, but hunger and dehydration had to be taken care of manually, so he tossed him another MRE and a bottle of water, both of which the Agent tore into greedily. God, it was so nice to eat something again, even if it was bland uncooked rations, but at least his brain was starting to work again.

"Hey, wait a second." Leon said, realizing something after taking the last bite. "A minute ago, did you say that my _mother_ told you I got beat up in high school?"

"All _through_ school, actually." The hooded man replied, finishing his cigarette, and flicking the filter on the floor. "I found myself in your hometown about a year ago, so I visited with your parents, and you know what? Your dad is _actually_ pretty cool… and those apple scones your mother bakes for the church fundraiser every year are some of the best…

Knocking the remains of the MRE wrappers on the floor as he jumped up, the Agent interrupted his words by taking grabbing Tobias by the shirt and shoving him roughly against the wall, screaming at him to not even _joke_ about threatening his family, but as usual the hooded man wasn't intimidated. Instead of toying with him or fighting back, Tobias simply said that if he wanted to hurt his parents, it would have probably made the news after a _damn_ year.

"I was more curious than anything." The hooded man casually explained. "Tell you the truth, I didn't even _know_ it was your hometown; I just started talking with a woman I met while in line at the post office, and when she saw that the TV behind the counter was running a program about Raccoon City's anniversary, she mentioned that her _son_ was a cop there when it happened."

"So you didn't hurt them or threaten them?" Leon asked, not sure whether or not to believe him. "Then… what _did_ happen?"

It was partly his own fault for not staying up to date with his parents, and honestly it had been _a lot_ longer than a year since their last phone call. So he let go of the hooded man, listening intently as Tobias told him about how his mother had invited him over for dinner as soon as she found out that he had been her son's superior in the RPD, which was… technically true. The Agent wasn't sure what he expected to have happened during that evening, but it wasn't that the hooded man helped his father finish fixing an old air compressor or that he had swapped an old family recipe for blueberry muffins for his mother's apple scones.

"They both wish you would call home more often." The hooded man continued. "Oh, and I almost forgot; your father said that if I saw you before he did, to tell you that he doesn't _really_ think you're a shiftless loser who just wants to smoke weed in the basement like you did in high school. Your mother was real happy to hear about you and Claire Redfield, though… said now your grandma wouldn't think you were an _uphill gardener_ … I don't know what that is, but it sounds _real_ bad."

"What, Nana thought I was a... you know what, it's not important." Leon answered after being speechless for a second. "I'll call my parents as soon as I get back to the States, but I swear to you, Tobias… if you _ever_ hurt them in _any_ way… _nothing_ will protect you from me."

Instead of answering back, Tobias simply patted the Agent on the shoulder while walking toward the door. For a second Leon thought about trying to use that radio to try and contact Hunnigan, but figured that it was probably only working for local traffic, and the hooded man was probably just talking to Ada while he was waking up. All right, no more distractions… no more bullshit… it was time to find Ashley, and put an end to all of this.


	58. Chapter 58 Time's Running Out

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Fifty Eight: Time's Running Out**

"So, basically I have no idea where Luis's lab is." Leon said as Tobias followed him down the stairs of the control tower. "He said there's a machine there that can kill immature parasites, but it won't matter unless I can find where Saddler took Ashley… and they could be anywhere by now."

"Sounds like this lab holds some pretty important stuff." The hooded man replied. "Stuff so important that a paranoid guy like Saddler would want to keep it close to him."

Well, if that was true, then it would mean that Luis's lab was most likely in the same area as the robed man's stronghold or wherever he liked to hide himself, and therefore… Ashley would probably be there, too. _Man_ , the Agent thought as they rounded onto the last set of stairs before reaching the ground, it was too bad that Tobias was a cold-blooded monster who could never be trusted, because he really _was_ a remarkable detective. The good news about this was that they were now only searching for one hidden location on the island, but once again… he had no idea where it was.

"This whole part of the island is under construction, so it can't be nearby." Leon began, taking a look around with his compact binoculars. "Looks like we'll have to move back to… back to… we'll have…

"Leon?" Tobias asked as the binoculars fell from his hands. "Hey kid, what's wrong?"

He knew that the hooded man was talking to him, but suddenly all of the words were muffled to the point of incoherency while the Agent's vision started to blur. He felt warm, too… sweat starting to bead up on his forehead, no not warm… hot… burning hot like someone had put hot coffee directly into his bloodstream. Along with the heat came pain so intense that Leon doubled over, groaning in agony while coughing out some blood onto his boots… and then he became aware that his own body was moving.

Without wishing it, nor even having the strength or coordination if he did, Leon suddenly let out a feral growl as he found himself lunging at Tobias with fingers slightly hooked as if they were claws. With far more strength than he was used to, the Agent growled while forcing the hooded man backwards, and drooling a little as his fingers tightened around Tobias's throat. Leon wasn't in control of himself, in fact, it was all like watching a movie through heavy static on an old television… at least until the hooded man ended the assault.

With a shove of Tobias's arms, the Agent viewed himself being thrown backwards so that he landed on his back, but couldn't feel the sensation of movement or even the impact of the landing, as if being forced out of himself somehow. Intense heat but also numbness at the same time were the only things that he could truly feel, making Leon dizzy and unable to concentrate even as he viewed himself scrambling to his feet to continue the attack on the hooded man… who was now taking out a familiar looking baton weapon.

Like an animal, the Agent lunged at Tobias again, but this time sparks flew as he struck Leon with the same weapon that he had used to fight off Salazar's guardian back at the castle, and now everything he could see was distorted. For a couple seconds there were no sensations at all, just a jumbled, scrambled mess, but then everything came back to him just as quickly as it had been taken away. Sight, hearing, motor control, suddenly the Agent's body was his own again… along with a new sensation of pain wracking his body from the lingering electricity.

His body twitching and jerking uncontrollably for a few seconds after the crackling energy faded, Leon could only let out a gasping cry of agony while the hooded man stood over him with the weapon still ready. Even with as confusing and painful as this whole experience had been, the only explanation was that the parasites inside his body were maturing, meaning that they would be able to exert more and more control over him, like Saddler said… until it was too late for both him and Ashley.

"You still _you_ down there, kid?" Tobias asked, sounding both concerned and ready to kill him at the same time. "Look up here, Leon… show me your eyes, or you're gonna get it again."

The Agent tried to do what the hooded man said, but was clearly moving too slow, since that same crackling pain returned when Tobias struck him with the shock baton a second time. Now that he wasn't numb from the parasite's influence, Leon was forced to feel everything the weapon had to offer, causing him to convulse violently while every muscle in his body was painfully constricted. It was only after the energy stopped crackling around his body that the Agent was able to scream, but this sound was cut off by the hooded man grabbing him in order to force his eyes open.

"All right, I think you're still you." Tobias said, dropping him back down. "Actually gave me a scare this time, kid… for a second there, your eyes were red like theirs."

If that was true, then time really was running out, but how was Leon supposed to find Luis's lab _and_ rescue Ashley, when the parasites inside his body were on the verge of maturing completely? This was worse for the President's daughter, since she had been infected with the _Plagas_ before he was, but the Agent had only been able to explore a small portion of the island so far, but… how was he supposed to do all this? There just wasn't any time… not for him to do it on his _own_ , anyway.

"Tobias." Leon groaned, still feeling the baton's effects as he sat up. "Tobias, I… I need your help."

"What's that, you say _hell_ just froze over?" The hooded man replied, kneeling down to talk with him. "Oh Leon, normally I'd gloat and make you beg, but there's _nothing_ more important to me than your safety, and I _do_ deal in exactly what you need at the time, so… what do you need?"

From where they had been on the tower overlooking the island, it looked like there were two main sections that were under construction; an industrial complex that was being renovated, and the ruins of a stone building that looked much older, possibly about the same age as Salazar's castle, just not as well maintained. If there was to be any hope of finding both the lab and Ashley in time, then the two of them were going to have to not only cooperate, but also split up.

Both regions needed to be searched, and Saddler didn't know that the hooded man was even around, so the Agent planned on heading through the stone ruins as a distraction while _the greatest detective in Raccoon City_ searched the industrial complex. Since both Salazar and Saddler had been able to communicate with him while everything was jammed, Leon figured that he and Tobias could also communicate with each other.

"I wanted to use this on Ashley, but Saddler immobilized me before I could." The Agent continued, taking a couple small objects from one of his pouches. "If for some reason you can't contact me after you find the lab or Ashley, tag them with these trackers, and I'll be able to follow the signal."

"Easy enough." The hooded man replied, putting them in his pocket. "Here, I got something for you, too."

Removing his backpack, which Leon realized now barely had anything left inside, Tobias emptied the few remaining contents onto the ground. There was a spare T-Virus cartridge for his inhaler, some more bullets for their revolvers, which they divided up, and a small object that looked like the same kind of shock baton he had just used on the Agent a moment ago. Now the backpack was completely empty, so the hooded man discarded it before handing Leon the collapsed baton.

"I carried one of these for fourteen years in Raccoon City." Tobias explained as the Agent took the weapon and activated it. "I know you like knives, but I once fought off a _T-103_ with one of these batons _before_ I had my powers."

"I guess I'm lucky you didn't have one onboard the Starlight." Leon replied, collapsing the weapon and attaching it to his belt. "Okay Tobias, this has been _killing_ me since I found out who you are, just… I'm grateful for your help and all, but… _please_ tell me why you're helping me. It just doesn't make sense, and you never do _anything_ without a purpose."

If anything, the hooded man should have been trying to kill him this whole time, being that the Agent was responsible for the death of his wife. However, Tobias had been doing the exact opposite of that ever since the village, and had been protecting him to the point of risking his own life a dozen times. Instead of answering, though, the hooded man just laughed a little while his eyes flashed yellow, before shaking his head and walking away. As much as Leon wanted to follow him and keep pushing for an answer, the sun had completely gone down, reminding him that time was running out.

"Don't worry, kid." The hooded man said, still laughing a little as he got farther away. "Help is on the way… you can thank me later."

That last statement didn't make any sense, unless he was referring to how quickly he was going to find the lab or Ashley, but Tobias was already walking toward the path that would take him to the industrial complex, so the Agent turned the opposite way, trying to keep calm as he moved away from the control tower toward the stone ruins. Hopefully the parasites would stay quiet inside him for a while, especially since Saddler probably had all of his guards searching for him by now.

Once through all of the construction wreckage around the control tower, the start of the stone ruins was at the end of a short, recently blacktopped road, and after taking cover behind a large mostly intact pillar, Leon used his compact binoculars to survey the area ahead. Well, he already knew that the ruins were huge, probably another old castle belonging to Salazar's family, but what he didn't expect was just how many armed guards were patrolling around through the crumbling courtyards and pathways.

There were dozens of them, maybe even more than that, all carrying rifles and wearing at least a couple pieces of body armor, as if there wasn't enough to go around, so they all just took their favorite parts. It was the rifles that really bothered him though, since there really wasn't much cover to be found, and… and what was that? There was a new sound reaching the Agent's ears, and at first he thought that the wind was just picking up… but then he realized that it was the approaching rotors of a helicopter, just before the flying vehicle seemed to come out of nowhere.

It was a _Bell UH-1_ attack type helicopter, but that was all Leon was able to see before having to hold up his hand to stop from being blinded when its searchlight came on. For a moment the Agent's mouth ran dry, realizing that there was nothing he could do against such an enemy... and then its mounted chain-gun weapons started to fire.


	59. Chapter 59 The Greatest Detective

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Fifty Nine: The Greatest Detective**

After the two of them parted ways, Tobias Liquid wasted no time in making his way toward the industrial complex, moving away from both the control tower and Leon as he put together a strategy in his mind. The hooded man was distracted from this process by the sound of distant helicopter rotors just when he was reaching the main road, causing him to look toward the stone ruins just as the hovering vehicle began shooting… no matter, Leon was going to be fine… that lucky little shit was _always_ fine in the end.

Okay, back on track; he needed to find the laboratory Luis had spoken of, but the metal industrial complex seemed to just get bigger as Tobias got closer, looking more like the giant abandoned factory system in _Detroit_ , with its multiple buildings and expansive roadways. There was no way that he would have enough time to search the whole place from end to end, so there had to be a way to narrow the location down a little… of course, the answers were literally right at his feet.

Upon reaching the main road, there were a couple different sets of tire tracks that had been left as partial impressions in the fresh blacktop, like someone hadn't been patient enough to wait for it to dry before allowing traffic to come through. Three distinct sets were visible, most likely from regular deliveries to the same places, with the first one being deeply embedded in the blacktop, meaning a really heavy load, most likely from heavy building materials or construction equipment… not the one he was looking for.

The next one was barely visible at all, with almost no deviation in pressure to one side while the truck was turning around the sharp curve, meaning that its cargo was most likely nowhere close to the vehicle's weight capacity… troop transport, maybe? The last set of tracks was somewhere in between the depth and weight of the others; heavier than a load of people, but not weighing as much as construction equipment… _and_ it was headed to a different location than both the others when the tracks were followed to the three-way junction farther up the road.

From what Tobias could see, this one was the most likely set of tracks to lead him to somewhere with mid-sized medical and scientific equipment, so he started down the road, making sure to keep out of sight by staying low and using whatever cover was available. Most of Saddler's guards must have been elsewhere on the island, because there was hardly anyone patrolling the whole route leading up to the industrial complex, with the few guards he encountered being very easy to avoid.

Leon would have probably run right out at them with guns blazing, the hooded man thought with a smirk as he ducked down behind a concrete highway barrier until they walked by. He would have run out there screaming and yelling, only to get his ass kicked when he realized how hard it was to take on three people at once in close quarters… then probably get captured _again_ and need to be rescued again… it was a good thing the stakes were so high, or else none of this would have been worth it.

Instead of ending at a storage container, or a rollup delivery door at some warehouse, the tire tracks stopped at the normal metal door of a concrete and metal building that didn't look any different than any of the others in the surrounding area, so the hooded man listened with his ear at the door for a few seconds before trying the latch. It was unlocked, squeaking a little on the rusty hinges as the door opened up into what looked like a waiting room… no, scratch that… this place looked like the intake unit for a small _prison_.

There was a really old reception desk at the center of the main room that had a typewriter on it, as well as a few uncomfortable looking chairs against the far wall that had eye-rings mounted into the concrete floor below for attaching inmates ankle-chains while they waited for processing. A few broken down filing cabinets were the only other noticeable feature of the room, probably unused for years with how much dust was gathering on the furniture, and all of this was illuminated by a couple of early model fluorescent light fixtures, some of which were flickering while all of them were spaced out _way_ too far apart for proper lighting.

Among the many abilities that he possessed thanks to Umbrella's experiments, Tobias was able to enhance his eyesight like a cat, but just like when using enhanced strength or healing injuries, it was only temporary pertaining to both how much he used at a time and also how much of the virus he had absorbed in the first place. The hooded man had been spoiled onboard the Starlight, becoming used to the infinite amount of power he gained from simply standing next to Gillette… but then Leon and Barry had killed her.

 _Smash_! For a moment there was a surge of anger that caused Tobias's eyes to glow yellow as he brought his fist down onto the desk, breaking it into several pieces. But then the sound echoed off the walls, causing his eyes to go back to normal as he realized that everyone in the building now knew that someone was there. Normally the hooded man was able to keep control over himself, but the memories of seeing his wife crystalized and left on the sinking ocean liner to die just… it just _enraged_ him.

Shaking his head to refocus his thoughts, Tobias remembered that time was running out for Leon, so he continued moving, finding that there was a long hallway around the next corner past the broken desk… no, not a hallway, a _cellblock_. Wheel tracks going through the dust from the door and down the corridor revealed that items from the transport trucks were definitely taken through there by hand-truck, so the hooded man started to follow them, but even with all the noise caused from breaking the desk, so far it seemed that he was alone.

Most of the holding cells that he passed while walking, lining both sides of the corridor like an old prison movie, were empty with a few having the doors literally ripped off from the outside. If there had been prisoners inside, something wanted to get to them pretty badly, and it had, judging from the old and dried splatters of blood that were sprayed across some of the far walls. The castle had a dungeon similar to this, but…

Wait… what was _that_?! Silently stepping backwards and to the side until he was partially hidden behind a support pillar, Tobias listened for the source of the rapid breathing/hissing noise that was coming from up ahead, and then the abomination stepped out from inside one of the farthest cells. It was tall, gray-skinned, and shaking a little with each step, sort of like someone who had taken _speed_ for the first time. Its fingers were long and pointed at the end like the start of claws, and its oversized mouth was filled with elongated, sharp teeth that looked more like spikes.

Odd… the hooded man was sure that the monster hadn't seen him hide, so how was it that the thing was turning toward him? Maybe it was just searching for the source of the noise… nope, it was changing direction again, turning just a little in order to start walking directly toward him… God damn it, he was gonna have to fight. Sighing heavily while reaching into his long-coat past where the revolvers were holstered, Tobias took out a _Mossberg 500_ shotgun, loudly cocking the weapon as he stepped out into view.

"That's right, you goofy fuck." The hooded man said, carefully studying this abomination's body from top to bottom as it approached. "Show me everything I need to… what the hell?"

Just as Tobias was about to start shooting, he noticed something strange about the monster's already bizarre body, and that was where certain parts of it were twitching differently than the rest. Needing more time to see if this meant anything, the hooded man started backing away, using a little of his stored viral power to see those parts more clearly, but only finding more questions. It was almost like those certain parts of its body were the joints where different muscles were controlled, but instead of each one directing a separate muscle group… it was like each one was trying to control the whole thing.

If that was true, then it explained why this monster was twitching so badly with all of those points sort of fighting for control… and since he was such a nice guy, Tobias decided to help it out with this problem. _Boom_! Firing the shotgun at the twitching portion of its chest as soon as it was close enough, the abomination coughed as the force of the blast made it stumble backwards, and as he hoped, a large section of its torso had been blown outward… but it was… already regenerating?

 _Boom! Click-click, Boom_! Each shot made the monster cry out as another part of its body was exploded outward, and now two things were happening as a result. Its movements were becoming less twitchy and more fluid as if more efficiently controlled, but it was also moving slower, kind of like a truck that was only firing on a couple of its engine's cylinders. This didn't affect its regenerating abilities, though, nor its ability to come after Tobias once he could no longer find any of those weakpoints to target.

 _Boom_! The next shot did next to nothing, simply making the abomination twitch a little as it grabbed for him, but the hooded man ducked out of the way, stepping around back of the monster as it stepped forward, and then shooting it in the back of its legs. As expected, the creature fell forward, already starting to regenerate before it had held out its arms to catch itself, but Tobias had something else under his jacket to take care of that. Reaching down and removing one of the red colored grenades from his belt, he pulled the pin and dropped it onto the abomination's back, diving out of the way just before the small weapon burst into an explosion of flames.

"Yeah, let's see you come back from _that_." He grumbled, watching the now shrieking creature writhe around in the flames. "Don't like _thermite_ too much, do you, you nasty little…

Suddenly the monster shrieked as one more section of its body, this time it's lower back, exploded outward, and this must have been the last weakpoint, because this small explosion was followed by an even bigger one as the whole top half of the abomination's body exploded in the same way, leaving only its legs to keep burning in the fire. Well, the battle was over, to Tobias stepped away from the monster, continuing to follow the tire tracks in the dust as it led him the rest of the way down the corridor, where another metal door awaited.


	60. Chapter 60 Air Support

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Sixty: Air Support**

Somehow Leon doubted that he was going to find the lab or Ashley at the end of this ruined part of the island, but it was still nice to not feel so outnumbered and outgunned for once. Instead of shooting at him while it was hovering in the sky, the attack helicopter turned its huge, rotating guns onto the guards, cutting several of them down with its high caliber bullets before they even realized what was happening. Tearing right through their body armor as if they were wearing nothing at all, a couple of them tried to shoot back, but only drew the attention of the helicopter faster.

" _I take it you're Leon_." A new voice said after the Agent's communicator started beeping. " _Agent Liquid said you'd probably be standing out in the open like a moron, and he was right as usual… I'm Mike, by the way… I'll be your trailblazer this evening_."

Without waiting for a reply, the helicopter banked to the left, bringing itself around the ruined wall where even more guards were waiting, but then ramming itself into the side of a large wooden water tower. At first Leon thought that this was a mistake, and that his sudden savior was about to crash… but instead of crashing, he noticed that the hovering vehicle was actually using itself to push the whole tower off balance. As the villagers and cultists had done, the guards didn't make any move to save themselves, just shooting their rifles at the helicopter until the whole tower fell over.

 _CRASH_! The wooden structure broke apart on impact, releasing a massive wave of water that swept away everyone in its path, giving the Agent plenty of time to pick up another one of the fallen Thompson rifles. Now with plenty of ammo again, all he could carry in fact, Leon was ready to take the fight to the guards… not that he needed to really do that much, with Mike's helicopter completely overwhelming everyone who stood against it. The few bullets that actually managed to hit the hovering vehicle simply bounced off the armored hull, and the shooters weren't likely to get another chance.

It bothered the Agent a little that the pilot said he had been sent by Tobias, mostly because communication with the outside world should have been impossible with Saddler's jamming system blocking outgoing signals, and also because… how in the hell did the hooded man have access to a damn _attack helicopter_ in the first place? Oh well, screw it, nothing about this whole part of the world made any sense, and as long as Mike was killing the infected guards, then everything was…

Suddenly Leon's thoughts were interrupted when he was coming around the corner of one of the still intact ruined walls, only to run right into something _big_ that the helicopter must have missed. Like the rest of the guards, his skin was discolored with eyes that were starting to glow red as the sun finished setting, but his body was a lot more muscular than the others that he had seen. Like Salvador back at the village, this guy must have been something special, since he was wearing a faded red beret almost like a sign of leadership, but that wasn't going to stop the Agent from using his newfound rifle.

 _Kakka-kakka-kakka_! Leon aimed center-mass and pulled the trigger, making the big man grunt and shield his face with his arms as the bullets made him stumble backwards. His stocky frame was so wide that every single one of the bullets in the magazine hit him, but… he still hadn't gone down by the time that the weapon clicked empty. The red beret had been knocked off, and there were over a dozen wounds on his body, each one with foul-smelling discolored blood seeping out… but the big man seemed more irritated than hurt, growling angrily as he lowered his arms.

"Uh, Mike?" The Agent asked nervously into his ear receiver. "I'm in a bit of trouble here, any chance you could come back this way?"

" _Little busy over here, Leon_." The pilot's voice replied as the big man took a step forward. " _I'll swing back over there once I get these scumbags; won't be long_."

Great, Leon thought as the big man took another step… but then he stopped, his angry face seeming to smirk a little while he moved backwards around the wall to pick up something that was on the ground. Whatever the object was, it was heavy, sounding like metal as it scrapped across the stone ground while being picked up, and then some of the color drained from Leon's face when the big man stepped back out into view while carrying a _gatling gun_.

The weapon's sling was hung over the big man's shoulder, and a really long ammo belt was hanging out the side so far that it dragged along the ground. This guy must have been on the way to deal with the helicopter when the Agent interrupted him, since a weapon like that could easily turn the armored hull into swiss cheese, but now the oversized weapon was aimed at _him_ … and the rotating barrel was starting to spin. With no option but to run for his life, Leon sprinted around to the other side of the wall, and then had to keep moving as the massive bullets began to tear the ruined wall apart.

Dust and debris was exploding all around him, kicking up a cloud of dust that made it difficult to see, but he had no trouble _feeling_ the impact of each bullet that was hitting the ground just behind where he was running. Suddenly his foot hit something, tripping Leon so that he fell forward, dropping down below where the bullets were hitting, and then being able to see again as he landed down on a lower pathway. The landing left his knee sore to the point where the Agent had to limp a little after getting up, but at least he was safe from the gatling gun's bullets, which had finally stopped.

It wasn't a good idea to stay where he was, though, since the big man was bound to start searching for him once he discovered that Leon had escaped, so he started making his way down the pathway, being careful to keep pressed against the wall so as not to be noticed. Overhead, the Agent could still hear the sound of the helicopter's rotors, along with gunfire as it kept taking down the guards who filled the ruins. Christ, if Tobias had a helicopter on standby this whole time, why did he wait this long to call it in?

 _Wham_! Suddenly the ground shook a little as something landed hard on the stone walkway behind him, so Leon spun around, already knowing what it was as he faced the big man and pulled the trigger… _click_. Oh shit, he had forgotten to reload the rifle, but his enemy had plenty of bullets, shown by how the ammo belt was still touching the ground when the barrel of his gatling gun started to spin again.

Thankfully he had come to a junction in the walkway, allowing the Agent to dive around the corner before the large weapon began to destroy this wall, too… however, this time the bullets passed right over him as they kicked up that same smoke and dust from the stone walls being destroyed. Remaining still on the ground until the shooting stopped, Leon was able to see the boots of his pursuer as the big man continued the search, apparently just as blinded by the dust as the Agent, since he walked right past him.

Okay, now that his enemy was headed in the wrong direction, Leon could easily sneak the other way, and… no, if the big man lost sight of him, then there was nothing to stop him from turning the gatling gun against the helicopter, so… so this had to be stopped right now. _Kakka-kakka-kakka_! Scrambling to his feet, the Agent ran up behind the big man, before aiming the rifle and unloading it into his back so that he was forced to stumble forward, and then Leon ran up and leapt onto his back.

Taking out his knife with one hand while holding onto the big man with the other as if riding a bull, the Agent began to stab his enemy repeatedly in the side of the neck, making the big man grunt and growl angrily while continuing to stumble forward down the walkway. A few times his enemy fell against the wall, but Leon managed to hold on, and it was a really good thing that the big man didn't seem willing to let go of the gatling gun in order to throw him off, or else the Agent might have been in real trouble.

Of course, no matter how many times Leon stabbed him, the big man just wouldn't go down, and then his enemy ducked his head way down just as they entered a clearing… while swinging the oversized weapon upward. Whack! There was no way for the Agent to avoid getting struck by the barrel of the gatling gun, knocking the wind out of him as he was thrown to the ground, followed by the big man kicking him in the side when he tried to get up.

It was over… Leon was now looking right down the barrel of the gatling gun, with his pursuer's finger about to start it up, when the wind picked up as the helicopter appeared overhead. Its loud rotors cancelled out all other noise, including the launch of the small rocket that flew right over where Leon was lying on the ground. The rocket struck the big man in the chest, lifting him off his feet and carrying him back down into the walkway before exploding, and then the battle appeared to be over.

Looking in all directions, and holding up his arm to shield himself from the wind, the Agent saw that all the other guards were lying dead among partially destroyed ruins, leaving him what looked like a clear path all the way to the other side… along with whatever was waiting there for him. Man, this hovering vehicle would have been nice to have had back at the castle, or in the village… not that he was ungrateful for the airborne assist that had definitely saved his life.

"Thanks, Mike, I owe you one." Leon said into his ear receiver. "When we get back to the States, drinks are on me."

"Damn right they are." The pilot's voice laughed as something caught the Agent's eye on the ground. "I know a great bar, but it's gonna cost you…

 _Fwoosh-BOOM_! Suddenly something was launched from another section of the ruins a short distance away, leaving a trail of white smoke that was headed right for the helicopter, interrupting the pilot's words as a good portion of the tail was consumed by a flash of light and noise. Instantly the hovering vehicle was spinning out of control, losing altitude as it dove sideways toward one of the more intact walls, where the rotors were shredded just before the rest of the helicopter exploded.

One might have expected Leon to scream or panic, or do something, but instead he found himself just standing there with a blank expression on his face, too shocked by the sight of Mike's fiery death to do or say anything at all. That is, until the flickering light allowed him to get a good look at the shooter, who was discarding the empty rocket launcher before looking right at the Agent from his sniping position high up on one of the ruined walls, leaving no mistake…

The shooter was Jack Krauser.


	61. Chapter 61 Witness IT

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Sixty One: Witness IT**

After the fight against that regenerating monster in the old prison, things got pretty quiet again as Tobias continued to follow the wheel tracks in the dust, leading him down the empty corridors, where hardly any of the light fixtures worked, but that was okay since there didn't seem to be any guards around. Plenty of boot prints all around in the dust, though, with the most recent ones being much heavier and partially distorted to one side… looks like there were a lot of people in here until recently, and… they ran out?

Yeah, everyone left this dark, empty building pretty quick, probably to go deal with all the chaos that Leon and the helicopter were creating, and that was fine because it made the search for Luis's laboratory that much easier. Only thing was that no matter how far the hooded man tracked the delivery from the truck, there was just nothing inside this whole complex. It was just a skeleton of unused offices and factory zones, leading him all the way through the first building, until he pushed open a set of double doors that led back outside.

No, not really outside, more like into a massive outdoor courtyard that was surrounded by the other buildings, but with one distinct feature. Like the rest of the island, the ground was made of rock and gravel, but at the center of the courtyard was a huge chasm that spanned the whole length as if some kind of earthquake had come through to just… collapse everything. There were no other doors visible in the sides of the buildings that went across it along the edges, not that those sections looked stable at all, most likely to collapse the moment anyone tried to use them to get across… there _had_ to be a way, though.

Keeping watch for anyone or anything that was going to ambush him, Tobias moved closer to the chasm, discovering that a bridge had been built to allow people, probably workers, to get across… wasn't a normal bridge, though. Attached to a heavy industrial cable, there were a series of steel crate-rigs that were all hanging below it, appearing to have been bolted together to keep them from swinging apart or detaching. There was a ramp closer to the chasm for getting onto the bridge, but suddenly his communicator device started to beep. No one ever called him, so as a precaution the hooded man cleared his throat to get ready to use his fake accent before answering.

" _Ha, I was right_!" The static-laced image of Osmund Saddler declared as he appeared on the small screen. " _Krauser told me that there had to be someone else on the island working behind the scenes, so I started trying the different frequencies, and what do you know, a masked man appears… so who are you_?"

"Me? Why I'm just a humble merchant, dealing in _exactly_ what you need at the time, stranger." Tobias replied, being careful not to let the screen show anything about his location. "I can see you're a man of exquisite taste, so I'll give you a good deal on a slightly used boot that I think you'll find fits _neatly_ up your ass."

On the screen, the robed man just glared at him for a couple seconds before calling him a smart-mouth, and then telling the hooded man that he already knew damn well who he was. According to Saddler, he was just another slave of the American Government, there to wave the flag and shoot up the place like Leon was doing. The robed man went on to accuse him of being cocky just because he was a little better at sneaking than the Agent was, but that he would end up being enlightened by _Las Plagas_ just like Leon was going to be, so it really didn't matter what his name was… so _there_.

"Yeah that's great, Saddler, now let me tell you who _you_ are." Tobias casually replied once the ranting was done. "You grew up rich, you were a gifted child who struggled socially, and you hate Leon so much because he reminds you of the footballers who got all the girls you liked back in school. No matter what you accomplished growing up, it was never enough to impress your parents or the kids you wanted to be friends with, but you were the best in things like _Dungeons and Dragons_ , and _that_ led you to where you are today."

The robed man wasn't so quick to say anything back this time, to the hooded man continued; describing Saddler as a lonely little boy who always wanted to be the dungeon master, because he didn't want to be the heroes who reminded him of the jocks who picked on him. No, _Little Osmund_ wanted to be the powerful wizard who cursed the land and crushed the heroes, so he spent his life searching the world until the ancient parasites underneath the castle gave him exactly what he was looking for.

Soon the robed man had everything he ever wanted; a kingdom to rule over, powerful minions to do his bidding, and an army of slaves that he wanted to use to conquer the people who Saddler saw as the biggest bullies of all... the United States. Hell, the robed man even kidnapped a Princess, and all was going _so well_ until the heroes started showing up, leaving Saddler to sit there shaking in his boots; nothing but a frightened little boy again while the footballer comes walking in to steal his girl.

"You didn't expect anyone to be able to fight your army, did you?" Tobias continued, snickering a little. "No, you're not a fighter, Saddler, you're more the kind of guy who just wants to hide in his room; watching romantic comedy films that star _Hugh Grant_ , while the real men do all the work… or are you more of a _Ben Stiller_ guy?"

" _You little… piece of… shit_." The robed man hissed, most of his composure gone. " _Leon will become a celebrated member of Los Iluminados, but you… I am going to invent new ways to end your life… and actually I already did. Congratulations, my sharp-tongued friend, you are going to be the first to witness IT_."

The hooded man expected there to be more to the explanation than that, but instead of saying anything else, Saddler let out an enraged roar as the communication ended. Tobias couldn't help laughing a little as he put the device away, imagining the robed man crying his eyes out while resuming his walk over to the crate-rig bridge. It was amazing how much could be learned about a person from only a little observation, and that information was usually enough to completely break them down.

However, as entertaining as it had been to mentally thrash the leader of this lunatic cult, enraging him like that had served another purpose. As long as the robed man was focused on finding and destroying Tobias, he would not be able to pay as much attention to Leon, giving him time to get through the stone ruins in case whatever _IT_ was, turned out to be more than he could handle. So far the toughest opponent that the hooded man had faced so far on this mission was that little guy's guardian, but there was always the chance that…

What was that? A good way for someone to make sure that they aren't being followed it for them to pay attention to the sounds that belong in a place, in a similar way that a polygraph gets a baseline on a subject so that the differences will be easier to spot… and one of those differences had just popped up. Just before setting foot on the metal ramp that would take him down to the first segment of the crate rig bridge, there was a sound… kind of like a heavy latch being unlocked from a large metal gate, followed by the crash of that same gate falling open on its big, rusty hinges… down below?

Blinking so that his eyes became yellow again, the hooded man used his enhanced vision to lean over and look down into the depths of the chasm, and if he hadn't been using that viral power, there was a good chance that he might have been killed by what happened next. There was definitely something down below; a huge metal box that almost looked like a containment cell, but its big grated door was hanging open, and something was very rapidly clawing its way up the side of the cliff… coming right toward him.

In a flash of movement, the shadowy figure leapt up the last length of the distance, and then Tobias cried out when he felt something sharp tearing across his side while the main body of his attacker slammed into the ramp. The force of the impact was enough to throw the hooded man backwards, causing him to land painfully on the floor of the first crate rig while the ramp itself continued to spiral as it fell down into the darkness. This section of the bridge was shaking a bit from the impact, and Tobias felt his power draining in order to close up his wound… but where was his attacker?

As if answering his question, something heavy landed on the crossbeams on top of the crate rig just as he was getting up into a kneeling position, causing everything to shake again… and then again when it jumped down onto the floor right in front of him. The crate rig was a work area, so its wall-mounted light fixtures and indicator lights were all working, allowing Tobias to not only see the stacked metal cargo crates and hastily fastened guard fences that made up the area, but also the true horror of his attacker's frame.

With a large _U-3_ branded into its chest, the top half of this beast looked like it might have been human once upon a time, with the same discolored skin and glowing red eyes that the villagers shared. However, its skin had also taken on a more scaly appearance, with elongated claws at the end of its arms instead of fingers, and a drool-covered tongue hanging out that was at least three feet long. As for the lower half of its build, this thing looked like a bizarre cross between an insect and a lizard; possessing a segmented body with multiple legs, and a long tail that must have been what cut him before, seeing as it had a bladed appearance toward the end.

 _It_ was a perfect way to describe this thing, and of course, its cage just _had_ to be right underneath where the hooded man needed to go, so Tobias once again pulled the shotgun out from underneath his long coat, cocking the weapon and raising it just as the abomination started to stomp its way toward him.


	62. Chapter 62 Krauser's Surprise

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Sixty Two: Krauser's Surprise**

"Looks like I shot down your friend, Leon." Krauser laughed, tossing the empty rocket launcher away. "That's _two_ helicopters in less than twenty four hours."

"What the fuck happened to you, Krauser?!" Leon yelled as he walked toward him. "You used to be one of the good guys, what… what do you even hope to gain from all this?!"

The answer to this came out of the blond man surprisingly easy; he had kidnapped Ashley and did everything else in order to get Saddler to trust him enough to be allowed access into the most secure vaults of this island. And what was kept in those vaults? The original samples of the modified _Control Parasites_ , which was what allowed people like Mendez and Salazar to bend the infected people of the village and the castle to their will.

Once Krauser obtained the sample, he was going to give it to those who understood its proper use, and then he would be one step closer to his goal of bringing order and balance to this insane world. Once Leon was able to see past the crazy, this explanation was translated into much simpler context; by _people who understood its true purpose_ , he must have meant Wesker, since the blond man was working with Ada… sort of, and by _order and balance_ , he meant doing exactly what Saddler had done, just on a bigger scale… probably a worldwide one.

"Jesus, I can't believe I used to look up to you." The Agent continued, now standing below the ledge. "I thought you were the best, you… you were my _hero_ , man! But you're just a psychopath and a traitor… and you're too naive to see just how hard Wesker's gonna fuck you over once your no longer useful."

"I'm _naïve_?" Krauser laughed again. " _You're_ the one who can't see what's happening around you, comrade. You think you have friends here, in this place? No… even _if_ you were gonna survive this, everyone is just waiting to fuck _you_ over as soon as _you're_ not useful… but you don't have to worry about that anymore."

Reaching down toward his feet, the blond man came back up with a machine pistol similar to the one Ada had been carrying, but this one was _not_ silenced. Suddenly every remaining wall of the ruins was echoing with gunfire as Leon dove for cover, putting his hands over his head and getting as flat to the ground as possible while the bullets did a lot more damage to the wall around him than expected.

Eventually the gunfire stopped, giving the Agent a chance to go on the offensive, and man was Krauser going to be shocked when he found himself on the receiving end of a Thompson. Jumping up to a kneeling position, and aiming the rifle up toward the ledge where his old mentor was shooting from, Leon was about to unleash hell… when he realized that the blond man was no longer there… right before there was a stinging sensation as he felt the very hot barrel of that same machine pistol being pressed into the side of his head.

"Drop the rifle, Leon." Krauser ordered, laughing a little again. "And the pistol, and your knife… toss them on the other side of this wall here."

This time there wasn't much choice but to do what he was told, so the Agent dropped his three weapons on the other side of the wall, waiting for his old mentor to pull the trigger. However, instead of just shooting him, the blond man struck him in the side of the head with the machine pistol, making Leon fall over sideways. Krauser laughed again, tossing his own firearm away while the Agent scrambled to his feet, declaring that it was time for them to finish the fight that Ada so rudely interrupted… and then he attacked.

Jumping into the air as he advanced, the blond man spun around and kicked Leon in the chest, sending him stumbling backwards until he fell onto the ground. His old mentor didn't let up, though, jumping up and bringing his fist down onto the Agent's head, followed by a painful kick up into the stomach after Leon fell to his hands and knees. Scooting backwards so that he could have enough time to get up again, the Agent kicked at him, followed by spinning around for his own roundhouse kick, missing with the first one, and finding his leg grabbed by Krauser during the second one.

With a swift hook of his foot, Leon's other leg was kicked out from under him, causing him to fall onto his back once again. Still holding onto the Agent's other leg, the blond man raised his foot up and then brought it down hard onto Leon's groin, making the Agent scream with more pain in his voice than he had experienced in a long time. Reflexively forced into a kind of fetal position because of how bad it hurt, Krauser let go of him, laughing again while stepping away.

"Leon, I taught you everything you know about fighting." His old mentor said, looking down at him. "I know all your moves, as well as how to counter them, and I've had about fifteen years longer to practice than you have, so you're basically helpless. So, I'm gonna take my time beating you to death, then Saddler will trust me with the sample, and then your body can rot here while I fix the world. So get up."

Krauser was right about knowing more about the fighting style they shared, and he did have a lot more experience, so what was the Agent going to do? His mind was racing for a solution as he slowly got to his feet, knowing that there was no way to get out of this by fighting like he had been… but then a random thought popped into his head while trying to use what he had learned from fighting the different monsters since arriving in the village.

" _Who the hell taught you how to fight?" Tobias had asked back in the castle's dungeon. "All that spinning and jumping gives you more power, sure, but you might as well be calling out each move you're gonna make before you do it."_

That was the answer! What made Krauser's fighting style so deadly was how much it focused on attacking nonstop, and against most opponents it worked like a charm… but not against Tobias Liquid. The hooded man's fighting style focused on defense and observing the enemy, while only striking when the perfect opportunity arose… but would it work on someone who had as much training and experience as his old mentor?

He was about to find out the answer when the blond man spun around for another kick just as Leon was getting to his feet, but instead of trying to counter it right away, the Agent took a step backwards so that Krauser's foot hit nothing but air… before giving him a solid kick to the mid-section as soon as it was exposed. His old mentor grunted, clearly not expecting this as he was forced backwards, but then Krauser leaned back to give him a kick straight to the jaw… and the Agent saw it coming again, allowing him to duck down and sweep the blond man's other leg out from under him.

Both of them jumped up at the same time, but instead of getting ready for another face off, Leon just kept jumping; bringing up both his feet and slamming them into his old mentor's chest just when he was about to attack, making Krauser grunt again when his back hit the ground. This time the blond man wasn't so quick to get up, giving the Agent some much needed time to catch his breath for when his old mentor attacked again… except, he didn't.

"So, someone else's been teaching you how to fight… that breaks my heart." Krauser growled, his voice straining as his left arm began to tense up. "But I'm afraid… you aren't the… only one who has a surprise."

Leon wasn't sure what he was expecting to happen next, but it definitely wasn't seeing something start to move around underneath the blond man's skin. It looked like all of his muscles were shifting, kind of like in _Looney Tunes_ where _Bugs Bunny_ is tunneling underground before the left turn at Albuquerque bit, but instead of the moving objects resettling into a new position, they erupted. Krauser cried out in pain as what looked like a dozen sharpened blades suddenly shot outward through his skin, twisting and bending around each other while still expanding into something that looked almost like a discolored… _wing_ with talons?

"Yes, behold the shape of _true power_!" The blond man declared, holding his heavily mutated arm up into the air. "Did you think Wesker would send me in here without a backup plan? Well, did you, comrade?!"

In addition to his arm, Krauser's eyes were becoming heavily bloodshot, with whatever reddish-purplish substance was in his arm spreading throughout the rest of his body so that his old mentor's veins were becoming visible, slowly discoloring his skin, but… not exactly the same tint as the villagers had. Not that this difference made the whole spectacle any less disturbing, on top of the fact that any hope of Leon somehow being able to reach the blond man had just gone out the window.

"You think… _this_ gives you power?" The Agent asked, pointing at the mutated arm. "You really _are_ just like Wesker, you know that? A deluded psycho who thinks he's some kind of a _James Bond_ villain."

"And how deluded were you, Leon, coming here thinking you could just walk in here and rescue Ashley all by yourself?" Krauser replied, slowly lowering his arm. "Well, you can't save anyone, not even _yourself_!"

For a second the blond man's body became a blur as he rushed forward, bashing the top part of the mutated wing into the Agent's chest as if it were a shield, and there was enough force behind it to not only knock Leon off his feet, but also send him rolling and bouncing across the ground until he came to a stop against one of the wall pieces next to a dead guard. This time, however, the Agent wasn't getting up, or even moving at all as his old mentor approached. Upon reaching him, Krauser reached down with his human hand to grab Leon by the back of the shirt, only to scream in pain as blue energy started crackling around his body.

While the blond man was approaching, still ranting about his perfect world, Leon was remaining still while taking the collapsed shock baton off his belt. Waiting for the right moment, he activated the electrical weapon just as his old mentor was pulling him upward, and then sparks flew when he shoved it into Krauser's groin as hard as he could. Although painful, this was not enough to take the blond man down, but maybe the _other_ thing he had landed next to was.

There were lots of dead guards scattered around from the helicopter attack, and the one the Agent had landed next to was lying right next to his rifle, so as soon as Krauser reeled backwards from the shock baton, Leon picked up the rifle and pulled the trigger. _Kakka-kakka-kakka_! Discolored blood began to spray out as an entire clip's worth of bullets tore into his old mentor's body, and this time when he fell down he didn't get up again, which was a good thing… since the rifle was now empty.

"How's that for… being deluded?" The Agent asked, leaning back against the ruined wall in order to take a short rest.


	63. Chapter 63 Subject U-3

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Sixty Three: Subject U-3**

Leaping out of the way just as the creature known as IT made a grab for him, Tobias rolled across the metal floor of the crate rig, bringing his shotgun up once he came to a stop, and shooting the beast in the torso just as it was turning around to attack again. _Boom_! The shell peppered the targeted area with small wounds while making the abomination twitch, and the hooded man was going to have to come up with a better plan, since his current weapon was just not cutting it.

Regardless of how big and lumbering its body appeared, this monster was a lot faster and more agile than it should have been; easily leaping back upward onto this section's cross beams, and then grabbing at him with its claws. Ducking around it, and then running around one of the metal cargo containers in an attempt to break the monster's line of sight, IT simply hopped along the cross beams, moving quickly enough to try grabbing at him every time he stopped… but maybe that was what he wanted.

A risky, and seemingly very stupid plan was now forming in the hooded man's mind, causing him to stop moving again, this time not trying to get out of the way when the claw came shooting down. As Tobias suspected, its aim was to capture him instead of killing him right away, giving him time to grab one of the other red grenades from his belt… pulling the pin while the creature was lifting him off the floor… and then shoving the explosive weapon into its gaping jaws just as it was opening wide to eat him.

Suddenly the immediate area was illuminated by a flash of orange light, causing the monster to drop the hooded man as it was engulfed in flames on the inside and outside. _Boom! Click-click, Boom!_ Roaring in pain as it stumbled sideways, the abomination was put further off balance when Tobias began firing with the shotgun again, and then it fell back down to the floor faster than expected, causing one of the shells to make sparks when it struck the industrial cable holding up the crat rig bridge.

Careful, the hooded man warned himself while putting the shotgun away, don't want to collapse the whole bridge, since it was the only way across. It did give him an idea about how to deal with IT, though, since the monster had been good enough to destroy the ramp he had used to get onto the bridge… leaving quite a gap of nothingness at the end. This thing was tougher than anything else he had fought so far, so Tobias took the collapsed baton from his belt before the monster could recover all the way, and made sparks fly when he brought it down on its mutated back.

For a non-lethal weapon, his old shock baton had certainly proven itself to be effective on all kinds of Bio-Organic Weapons since his first encounter with them back in the spring of 1998, when he had used it to knock an Umbrella T-103 off a cliff in the Arklay Mountains. This time was no different, with sparks flying and blue energy crackling across the monster's body each time it was struck, making the abomination growl as it was made to back up a little more with each blow.

Just a little farther and it would be at the end of the bridge, so Tobias pressed the attack, having to use up more and more of his stored up power to be fast enough to avoid each slash with its claws… but then IT retreated again. Leaping up to the crossbeams as it had done before, the abomination growled as the blue energy faded from its body, giving the hooded man the time he needed to put the baton away in exchange for drawing both of his revolvers. _Bang! Bang!_ Firing upward so that the monster wouldn't have a chance to recover, he stopped for a second when one of the bullets sparked against the main cable… only to keep shooting a moment later.

This time Tobias's target wasn't the monster, but the cable above it, using every bullet in both cylinders to shoot the thing again and again… but it just didn't break. Fuck, the hooded man thought as the monster glared at him from above; he had weakened the cable, but now his revolvers and shotgun were all empty, with no time to reload before IT decided to jump back down. _Wham_! _CRASH_! Landing hard enough to make the crate rig shake, the monster started toward him, only to fall sideways as everything began to fall.

Apparently the added weight of the monster leaping down onto the floor was just too much for the heavily damaged and fraying industrial cable to tolerate, and now this entire half of the bridge was falling toward the darkness. Grabbing onto the bars of one of the installed metal barriers as everything turned sideways, Tobias swung both of his legs in order to slam his feet into the monster's face just as it was trying to grab onto something, too, causing it to start falling as soon as the bridge swung down into the cliff wall.

"Bye, bye, asshole!" He called just before it managed to grab onto the very edge of the crate rig. "Oh, shit!"

Now climbing his way up and over the barrier, Tobias scrambled his way around and over the cargo containers and equipment that hadn't broken loose yet, trying to reach the next section before IT caught up to him. Damn thing was a fast climber, though, quickly closing the distance between the two of them even with the head start that the hooded man had gotten. Without any time to reload his weapons, and barely any of his viral power left, his only hope was to manually separate the crate rig sections so that he could get away while the monster fell to its death.

Blinking so that his eyes turned yellow again, Tobias used all of his remaining power to leap upward just before the monster's claws would have had him, allowing the hooded man to reach the beginning of the next section. There he kicked the manual release lever as hard as he could, holding onto the ratchet-straps of another container while the lowest section separated from the rest, taking the monster down with it into… oh crap, you've _got_ to be kidding me.

Instead of falling down into the darkness along with that section, IT reached the top and did a pretty impressive leap of its own, forcing the hooded man to scramble his way up and over the cargo container in order to avoid a ferocious stab with the abomination's tail. Of course, the tail's blade also happened to slice off one of the container's straps just as he was getting on top of it, so Tobias took an extra second to unlock the other one before jumping up to grab the next barrier.

The monster growled in what sounded like annoyance while having to avoid getting hit by the falling container, and even more so when it looked up to see that the hooded man was more than halfway up to the next section. The crate rigs were huge, so there were only three of them required to span the chasm, but hopefully releasing the next one would take care of the beast once and for… _oh shit_!

Suddenly something powerful locked itself around his ankle, ripping Tobias away from the surface he was climbing on, and pulling him down so that he was now face to face with the abomination. Its mouth was open wide, roaring and drooling all over him as the monster leaned forward to bite his head off, but the hooded man was able to grab his shock baton, activating the weapon and then shoving it halfway down the beast's throat.

IT was unable to hold onto him once the electrical energy started crackling around its body, freezing the monster in place while Tobias resumed his climb. This was a lot harder to do without the benefit of his viral powers… hell, _everything_ was, but he still managed to reach the start of the final section. Kicking the release lever just like he had done with the last one, everything shook as the middle section fell down into the darkness, but this… thing with _U-3_ carved into its deformed chest just wouldn't give up.

Biting down on the shock baton, the broken weapon shorted out, allowing the abomination to continue chasing after him… and again managing to jump upward to the last section. There were no more release levers, and no way left to destroy this end of the cable, so unless the hooded man thought of something fast, he was going to be forced into a fair fight with this monster… and that was the _last_ thing he wanted. Unfortunately, Tobias was getting tired without his powers to draw upon, slowing down his climb until he was only a couple seconds ahead of the beast when he was able to crawl onto solid ground again.

Dragging himself out of the last section and onto the other side of the chasm, the hooded man knew that his only chance was to use his inhaler and get his powers back before the monster got there. With only seconds to spare, he took out the inhaler and pressed down on the cartridge… just as IT grabbed onto his arm with its claws… pulling the small device away from his mouth just as the small cloud of green gas was released… right into the monster's face.

For a moment everything was still, with the abomination just staring at him as if it were confused, but then its eyes began to glaze over. Now the monster's skin was turning a putrid white color, and with it having just breathed in that much T-Virus, Tobias wasn't surprised at all that there were adverse effects. The thing was swaying now, growling more like one of the zombies from Raccoon City as its movements became significantly slower… and this time there was nothing it could do to stop itself from falling when the hooded man punched it in the face.

Bouncing off some of the cargo containers, and then reaching the end of the bridge's only remaining section, IT finally vanished down into the darkness, with Tobias sending a little present down after it as soon as he was able to reload his revolver. _Bang! Bang! Bang!_ Now that the monster was no longer chasing him, it was easy to shoot the cable on this end until it broke, sending the last section of crate rigs crashing down into the chasm… hopefully right onto U-3's deformed head.

"Leon _better_ appreciate all this." He grumbled to himself, sitting down in order to reload his weapons and use the inhaler to recharge his powers.

Instantly feeling better as the T-Virus closed his wounds and restored his powers, the hooded man realized that his last cartridge for it was empty, meaning that after he used up the temporary powers inside himself, well… that was it. Good thing he still had plenty of bullets, because he had a feeling that he was going to need them once he found the lab.


	64. Chapter 64 The Cure

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Sixty Four: The Cure**

Leon tried to get up, he really did, making several attempts but ending up falling to the ground just the same while drifting into and out of consciousness. He seriously did not feel well, but whether that was a result of his injuries, the parasite infection, or just the overall fatigue of this mission was anyone's guess. The few times he actually managed to move were filled with agony that wracked his entire body, causing him to cough up blood, and go into brief convulsions like what had happened to him back at the lake house… oh God… it hurt… everywhere.

There was no way for him to know how much time had passed during these episodes, except that the moon was in a different position each time he opened his eyes… and then his communicator started beeping. Dimly hoping that it was Hunnigan, and deciding that he was just going to hang up if it was Saddler, the Agent had to blink a couple times to bring his eyes back into focus… only to cough out more blood when he saw that the trackers he had given to Tobias had gone active.

Coughing again, this time having to shut his eyes when his breath kicked up some dust from the stone, Leon realized that he must have passed out again, because he swore that he had just been looking upward. What was that?! His hearing was a bit muffled, but it sounded like there were gunshots going off somewhere nearby, but all of the guards in the area were dead, as was Krauser, so who was shooting?

"Leon?" A heavily muffled voice asked. "Leon? Can you hear me?"

Someone was grabbing him by the shoulder, trying to get him to roll over onto his back, but the movement just made him cough up more blood. Again, this person was trying to make him move, encouraging the Agent to stand up, while trying to pull him to his feet, but she was not exactly built for raw strength. If hours had passed while he was lying there on the stone, then Leon was in real trouble since the parasites in his blood could mature at any moment, so he did his best to stand up… only getting as far as a kneeling position before he would have collapsed if the dark haired woman hadn't been there to catch him.

"Leon, you have to stay awake!" Ada yelled, slapping him in the face. "Come on, you gotta get up!"

What he really needed was to follow Tobias's tracker, so he struggled to pull the communicator back out of his pocket, and was pretty sure that he was speaking in slurred gibberish while showing her the beacon. The dark haired woman looked at the screen, pointing to it, and asking the Agent if that was where he was trying to go, but then something awful happened before he could answer.

Like what had happened when he attacked the hooded man, suddenly Leon's body was wracked with heat and pain, causing him to become a prisoner inside himself as his vision became that red-filtered movie view… just before he lunged at her. Ada was caught completely off guard, knocked off balance as his hands locked around her throat, and the Agent's weight was enough to force her down onto her back. He wanted to stop, and could barely hear her calling out to him, but his thoughts were becoming so distorted and foggy that he didn't even notice when she grabbed the shock baton from his belt.

The effects took a little longer to reach him this time, but when the dark haired woman activated the weapon and brought it across his stomach, Leon felt control returning to him as the redness and heat vanished… leaving him open to the electricity that was crackling around his body as he fell over sideways. Now he and Ada were both on the ground, her sitting up and coughing a little while rubbing her neck, while he spit up a little more blood before it stopped… the Agent wanted to tell her how sorry he was for that, but could still only make rasping sounds.

"You certainly know how to make a girl fee special, Leon." She said, holding the baton at him threateningly as Tobias had done. "Are you okay now, or do I need to use this again?"

"No… time." He groaned, hurting now just from talking. "Lab… gotta get… lab… cure."

Deactivating the baton, the dark haired woman put his arm around her shoulders, both of them working together in order to get him on his feet. She understood that he was following the tracker, so Leon handed her the device and focused all his energy on simply staying conscious, while she guided him toward the signal. Still fading in and out, the Agent was aware of them passing through a few doors, going through some small buildings, and at times having to hide behind things in order to avoid randomly patrolling guards. It was astounding that there were any of them left, with as many as Mike had killed with the helicopter, but at least their numbers had been thinned.

A few times the Agent's legs started to give out, nearly making both of them fall over since again, Ada wasn't exactly a large person. She was able to keep them standing, though, and after passing through another door that was at the bottom of a staircase… at least he thought it was, since his vision had blurred after exiting the _last_ building, they entered a room that was a lot colder than anywhere else in the region.

The Agent's breath was visible again, and now the cold temperatures felt painful, as if the air itself was attacking him, making him want to go back outside… but at the same time, this also caused more of the control to be returned to his body. Luis was right, the parasites really _did_ hate the cold… good thing Ashley hadn't been kidnapped in the summertime. Blinking a few times to focus his eyes, Leon definitely felt like he was standing inside of some kind of laboratory, but… what in the hell happened here?

As one would expect, there were rows of large testing and monitoring equipment sitting along the sterile white walls… at least they had probably been white at one time. A lot of the equipment in the large room was damaged, most of it appearing to have been caused by gunfire, given the bullet holes on the walls and in some of the machines. It actually looked like a pretty intense fight had taken place, with Leon seeing cracks in the floor tiles the next time he almost fell down, and some of the light fixtures broken and sparking when Ada helped him sit down on a rather constrictive chair.

"You're _sure_ this is the machine Luis said would cure you?" Ada asked, strapping his arms down onto the sidebars. "It looks like it's already programmed for some kind of sequence, so here goes."

Wait a second, actually he wasn't sure that this was the machine… once he realized that the dark haired woman had already set him inside of it and pushed the button. The Agent tried to protest, but was suddenly unable to as the familiar heat and pain of the parasites asserting themselves started to come back, and now… well, now it didn't really matter whether or not this was the right machine because it was getting hard to feel anything at all, really. This time instead of simply becoming a prisoner inside of his own body, Leon felt his consciousness slipping away until he couldn't…

Just as everything was fading away forever this time, there was a blinding flash of light as the machine powered up, and then all of his feelings and sensations came flying back as it felt like he was being beaten by a hundred of Tobias's shock batons. His vision and hearing quickly coming back into focus, the Agent heard a crackling sound while seeing that there were small lightning bolts being generated by antennas that were just above him… and he could feel every bit of it as they zapped their way into his body.

It might have only been a few seconds of this, but to Leon it felt like the machine's sequence lasted for hours, concluding with a sharp _beep_ as quickly as it started, and dumping him onto the cracked floor once the restraints released. His body was smoldering, while every muscle in his body felt so constricted that he couldn't move, but instead of helping him up again, Ada seemed interested in something else. There was another machine a short distance away, and the dark haired woman was looking at the communicator while walking up to it.

"Well, this is where the second tracker leads." She said, wiping the fog from the glass plate with her hand. "What the… oh, my God, Leon, look!"

"Yeah?" The Agent groaned, unable to move enough to look at what she was pointing to. "What is it?"

The feeling was starting to come back to his arms and legs, allowing him to twist his body around just in time to see the dark haired woman hit the release lever on the side of the refrigerator sized machine in front of her. There was a _hiss_ of gas being released as the whole front part swung open, and after leaning in to reach something inside, Leon was genuinely shocked when it was _Ashley Graham_ that she pulled out of it.

The young woman didn't look like she was in any better shape than the Agent was, needing to lean heavily on Ada to stay on her feet, but at least she was easier for Ada to hold up. For the past few hours Leon had been worried that Ashley's parasites had matured since she was infected long before he was, but then he remembered what Luis had told him about the incubation time being affected heavily by adrenaline, and well… the young woman hadn't been through quite the same ordeals that he had.

She mumbled something as her head rolled back and forth, but the words didn't make any sense; not that they really mattered since Ada was already putting her into the machine. Once settled into the chair, the young woman looked like she was asleep, but then she woke up real fast once the machine powered up. Ashley screamed as the electricity started to flow into her body, crying while she struggled against the straps… but Leon had been right… it was only a couple seconds before the machine beeped, and she was tossed onto the floor just as roughly as he had while the device powered down.

"So… is that it?" The Agent asked, finally managing to pull himself into a sitting position. "Are we… are we cured?"

From the look on Ada's face, she had no idea whether or not Luis's device had worked, but then the conversation was interrupted by a loud _crash_ as the doors on the opposite side of the lab were kicked open. The Agent was expecting maybe Tobias or some of the remaining guards to come rushing in… but it was neither. Still struggling to move around, Leon could only gasp as Osmund Saddler himself barged into the room, but… he looked like he was having a pretty bad evening of his own. His robes were partially burned along with half of his face, leaning heavily on one of the machines while scanning the immediate area for whatever had caused the scowl that was spread across his face.

"Where are you?!" The robbed man screamed, all of his usual composure gone. "When I find you, I am going to _rip_ out your spine and _feed_ it to you, you yellow eyed… Mr. Kennedy?"


	65. Chapter 65 Saddler's Power

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Sixty Five: Saddler's Power**

Slowly Leon was becoming able to move around while the residual energy and soreness from Luis's machine faded. He was no longer being attacked by the parasites from within, but whether or not the electrical treatment was permanent was yet to be seen… not that there would be a chance for the Agent or Ashley to go through the procedure a second time, given that a very agitated looking Saddler had entered the laboratory.

When he moved his gloved hand out of the way, Leon was able to see that half of the robed man's face had been burned off, although his overall mood did seem to improve when he saw the small group inside the room. Still leaning on the nearby machine for a moment, eventually Saddler was able to stand straight up, like the wounds that he had received during… whatever had happened between him and Tobias, were quickly regenerating. Soon it was as if the robed man was completely unharmed, aside from the burned part of his face which wasn't healing, but unfortunately Ashley wasn't recovering so fast.

The young woman wasn't showing any signs of still being infected by the parasites, since they would have probably recovered and used her body to attack him by now… and she definitely wasn't moving. A little bit of the residual energy had crackled around Ashley after the machine dumped her onto the floor, and she was breathing, which was great, but the bad news was that she hadn't regained consciousness yet, meaning that it was going to be a lot harder to keep her safe from Saddler… not that he had much chance by himself.

"Still trying to resist the conversion, are we?" The robed man laughed, slowly stepping closer to them. "Well, judging from the state of you two, it can't be long now… so I will let you finish the transformation while I deal with your lady friend here… who looks surprisingly _uninfected_. Oh, and this may sound strange, but… have you seen a man with yellow eyes around here lately?"

"Ashley, come on." The Agent said quietly, groaning from soreness as he tried to pick her up in his arms. "Come on, wake up, we… we gotta go."

Instead of attacking during this, Saddler just stood there watching while Leon struggled to stand up, waiting until the Agent had finally managed to get on his feet, before holding up his hand like he had done both at the castle and the last time they meant. Leon's whole body tensed up when he saw this, closing his eyes tightly while waiting for the pain to engulf his entire body… but it didn't come. After several seconds of anticipation, the Agent opened his eyes so that the first thing he saw was the confused expression on the robed man's face.

"You have… removed the parasites from your body?" Saddler asked with genuine confusion in his voice. "But how… are you telling me that Luis's ridiculous machine actually _worked_? I actually feel kind of silly now for leaving it so close to where I kept…

 _Pht-pht-pht-pht-pht_! Suddenly the sound of silenced gunfire filled the room as Ada pulled the trigger of her machine pistol, interrupting the robed man's words while the small caliber bullets tore into his chest. He didn't go down or even stumble backwards like everything else had done so far when shot, and in fact… it was like Saddler didn't even notice that he was being fired on after the first couple hits. He just stood there, almost like he was patiently waiting for the dark haired woman to need to reload.

"Well, this is quite a pickle, is it not?" The robed man asked while Ada put another clip in her weapon. "I so desperately want you and Ashley to become part of _Los Illuminados_ , but I don't have any more eggs at the moment, and I'm _damn sure_ not giving you the last prepared sample of the _Plaga Comandante_ , so…

 _Pht-pht-pht-pht-pht_! Ada interrupted him again with more gunfire, causing Saddler to sigh as if annoyed, but then something started to move underneath his skin, moving down his arm and into his hand, toward the fingertips. Whatever this was, there were a lot of them gathering within his fingers, and then the robed man held out his hand like he had done before… causing what sounded like gunfire as each and every bullet that the dark haired woman shot him with was forcibly ejected from his fingertips.

 _Ratta-tatta-ratta-tatta_! Flying outward in all directions and no longer silenced, the small bullets slammed into machines and put more holes into the walls while the three of them ducked for cover. Leon couldn't help wondering how it was that the bullets still sounded like they were being fired since there was no power to explode, but that wasn't nearly as important as shielding the still unconscious Ashley from this completely unexpected attack.

This must have been what caused most of the damage to the room in the first place, the Agent thought, imagining some kind of similar confrontation having happened between Saddler and Tobias at some point… but how had the hooded man burned half his face like that? It didn't matter; the robed man eventually stopped shooting once there were no more bullets left inside him, but instead of coming up with a plan of escape, Ada immediately started shooting at him again.

No, that was exactly what they _shouldn't_ have been doing, and the Agent was about to start yelling for her to stop, when he realized that she wasn't actually aiming at Saddler… but at the large cylinder of compressed gas in the corner right behind him. _BOOM_! Okay, maybe shooting wasn't such a bad plan after all, and the best part was that the robed man didn't even seem to notice what was going on until the explosion caused his whole body was engulfed in flames. The whole room shook for a second, with dust falling from the ceiling while all the lights flickered on and off… and then Leon heard it… the sound of Saddler laughing.

Scrambling to his feet and picking up Ashley, the Agent ran for the door he had used to come in, with Ada following close behind just as the robed man started to get up. The robed man's voice was heard mocking them as they ran back up the stairs, asking them where they were running off to in such a hurry, but Leon had no intention of answering him… only trying to fight through the last of his lingering soreness as he carried the young woman back up toward the surface.

"Leon, I've got an idea." Ada said, both of them stopping to catch their breath after reaching the top of the stairs. "But you're gonna have to keep him distracted until I get back."

"Wait, what?!" The Agent exclaimed as she took off running down another corridor. "But I've got Ashley… Ada, wait!"

However, the only one who answered his calls was Saddler, looking up at him from the bottom of the stairs and waving as if they were playing a game. It was impossible for Leon to use his revolver while carrying the still unconscious Ashley, not that bullets were doing any good in the first place, so he kept moving toward the door. He didn't know what the dark haired woman's plan was, but it was bound to be better than nothing, so the Agent kicked open the door and ran back outside, doing his best to lead the robed man away from Ada so that she could do… whatever it was she had planned.

But where the hell was he supposed to go for now? This whole part of the island was under heavy construction, covered mostly by the metal framework of unfinished buildings, leaving nowhere for him to take shelter. It wouldn't be long before Saddler caught up to him, even _if_ he was still moving at such a casual pace, so the Agent kept moving… and only now realizing that he didn't know the layout of this part of the island at all. He had been delirious and half under the control of the parasites ever since his fight with Krauser back at the stone ruins, but… now those ruins were nowhere in sight… wow, how far did Ada help him walk to get to the lab?

Running was only going to work for so long; Leon needed somewhere they could hide, so he looked around, and started heading toward one of the larger construction projects. This area had a bunch of really tall cranes used for building skyscrapers, but the control modules for each one was located up toward the very top of the building they had been in the middle of putting together, so none of this did him any good… that is, until he saw the service elevator. It was nothing more than a wide platform with a control box, used for bringing heavy materials like concrete up to the work area, so it was more than enough to lift him and Ashley.

The robed man appeared in the distance, still walking slowly as he pursued them, but it didn't matter as long as the elevator worked when Leon pressed the button. With a hard _click_ , followed by the whole platform shaking, the elevator started up its track, slowly carrying the Agent and the unconscious young woman toward the top while Saddler was left far down below. This building wasn't exactly a skyscraper, probably no more than six or seven stories high, but more than enough to keep the robed man from coming after them, since there was no way to call the elevator besides the control box.

When the service elevator stopped at the top, Leon found himself stepping off onto a vast open platform made of concrete and steel. It was still under construction, since there were large stacks of I-Beams and other building supplies scattered around, but hey, at least there was no other visible way to get up there. It was quiet, too… no sounds other than the blowing wind, which finally gave the Agent a moment to relax… until he was startled by the sudden feeling of movement in his arms.

"Ashley?" He asked as her head began to roll to the side. "Ashley, are you all right?"

There was nothing to set the young woman down on except for construction equipment, so he put her down into a sitting position against one of the stacks of steel beams, kneeling down with her as Ashley squirmed around a bit before finally opening her eyes. She was a little groggy, which was good considering the state Leon had been in after the procedure, but once the young woman rubbed her eyes to bring them into focus, she smiled while throwing her arms around the Agent.

"Oh Leon, I knew you'd come back for me, I just knew it!" She exclaimed, hugging him tightly while giving him a kiss on the cheek. "But… where are we… and… what happened to Saddler? Did you beat him?"

Suddenly as if answering her last question, there was a flash of movement from below the far edge of the platform as something quickly pulled itself up over the ledge, jumping to its feet as if the journey up there without an elevator hadn't been exhausting at all. No, not something, but someone… a certain robed man whose eyes glowed red like all the others now that it was dark enough for them to be seen. But still… how in the hell had he gotten up there?

"Ah, I found you, Mr. Kennedy." Saddler said, laughing a little as Leon jumped up to his feet. "I will admit to being impressed by how you swooped in there and saved the girl, but you must realize by now that _the American prevailing_ against all odds is a cliché that only happens in your Hollywood movies… and not the good ones, I might add."

"I don't know, I've been doing pretty good so far." The Agent replied, trying not to show how much pain he was still in. "I mean, even with an army and all the power of the parasites, you _still_ haven't managed to kill me… performance issues?"

The robed man started to say something back, but instead started laughing so hard that he almost fell over. For several seconds Saddler kept laughing like this, slapping his knees and howling loudly as if Leon's joke had been the funniest one he had ever heard… but then all the laughter stopped as the robed man's body started to change.


	66. Chapter 66 El Rey Plagas

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Sixty Six: El Rey Plagas**

"Ashley, get out of here!" Leon exclaimed, pointing to the elevator. "Go!"

She protested, not wanting to leave him alone, but relented when the Agent repeated his order, and Saddler didn't make a move to stop her from getting away… most likely because he was in the middle of some kind of transformation. Just after the robed man had finished talking a moment ago, he had opened his jaw so wide that it looked like he was going to swallow his own head, revealing that the inside of his mouth was filled with a gigantic bloodshot eye that was yellow and red in color.

For a second this triggered the memory of the giant eye in William Birkin's arm back in Raccoon City, but Leon's thoughts were forced back into the present when the rest of the robed man's body began to change as well, twisting and jerking underneath his robes until a set of huge, segmented spider legs began to emerge. Leaving his empty robes hanging uselessly underneath, the final result of this nightmarish transformation was an armored spider-looking creature that was far larger than Saddler's human form had been.

At the top of this discolored red and yellow body was the robed man's original face, with the eye within his mouth looking around… and then another, smaller eye appeared above the joint of its front most leg. Both of the discolored eyes looked down at him, with another eye soon opening in the same spot on each of its other legs… and then the newly formed monster let out an inhuman roar as it started to walk toward him. Thankfully, Ashley had taken the elevator back down by this point, but… that didn't help the Agent very much.

"Still think I have _performance issues_ , Mr. Kennedy?" The mostly human face taunted in a much deeper voice once its largest eye had hidden itself. "Come on… take your best shot."

 _Bang_! _Bang_! Having lost his rifle at some point while he had been under attack by the parasites in his blood, Leon's only remaining ranged weapon was the revolver, which he quickly drew and pulled the trigger. The first bullet sparked as if hitting metal when it bounced harmlessly off the monster's armor, but the second one struck it on one of the smaller eyes, causing that one to reflexively close while Saddler stumbled forward a bit. Other than that, no damage had been done, leaving the Agent no choice but to retreat.

This whole top level of the unfinished building was a single, open platform, so there was plenty of room to move around, but there were also those stacks of building materials lying around, some of which were attached to the nearby cranes as if ready to be lifted once work resumed. Growling as it pursued him, the abomination was a lot faster than Leon, forcing him to climb over the stacks and even slide under a wheeled power generator in order to avoid being overtaken by it.

Each time the Agent was able to put a little space between it and himself, he turned around and fired a couple more shots at the monster, but except for the few times he was able to hit one of its smaller eyes, Saddler just walked right through the bullets. Quickly running out of breath due to his previous injuries, Leon was struggling to climb up over another stack of beams to get out of the monster's reach, but suddenly its front leg swung forward, knocking his legs out from under him just as he reached the top.

Landing on his hip on top of the beams, the Agent tumbled down the other side of the stack, crashing onto the concrete face down just as the monster was making its way around toward him. There were still two bullets left in the revolver, so Leon raised it in order to try hitting one of those eyes again… only to scream when the sharpened end of one of the monster's legs was stabbed down into his left hand all the way through to where the tip hit the concrete below.

"What happened there, Mr. Kennedy?" Saddler asked, using another leg to kick the small weapon over the edge of the platform. "I thought the _American hero_ was supposed to defeat the horrible…

Now it was the monster's turn to cry out in pain after the Agent used his free hand to take out his knife, and stab it as deeply as he could into the eye of the leg pinning his hand. The weapon was pulled from his hand, remaining embedded in the now bleeding eye while Saddler was forced to stumble backwards, but this injury didn't stop the abomination from using one of its other legs to kick him so hard in the stomach that Leon was lifted off the ground.

He wasn't lifted that high, but there had been enough force behind the blow to send him rolling and bouncing nearly all the way to the other side of the platform until coming to a slow sliding stop. Once the world stopped spinning around him, the Agent tried to get up, doing his best to avoid using his bleeding, useless left hand as he leaned on the power unit for a work light system. Of course, Saddler was already making his way toward him, with the monster showing no signs of slowing down, even with one of its many eyes destroyed with the knife.

All that Leon had left to defend himself with was the shock baton on his belt, but he wasn't sure how effectively he could still swing a melee weapon, since it was hurting him just to breathe, like he had cracked a rib or two. Still, the electrical weapon had proven itself to be effective against armor before, so he activated the baton and stood ready to try and hold off the abomination until a better plan came to mind… yeah… nothing was coming to mind just yet.

Limping a little as he went on the offensive, sparks flew as the Agent brought the baton across Saddler's nearest leg, but all this caused to happen, aside from the abomination twitching a little, was for him to get a deep cut across his chest from the point of another leg when it swung outward. There was a spray of blood, along with a cold stinging pain as Leon was sent stumbling sideways until he fell down to his hands and knees, swinging the baton wildly even though Saddler was beyond his reach… and then taking a blow across the side of the head that put him the rest of the way down.

The monster moved forward so that it was standing right over him, raising up one of its legs for the kill, but then there was a loud echoing _wham_ as something big slammed into the side of the monster with enough force to lift it off its feet. It took the Agent a second to realize what had happened; one of the construction cranes that was attached on a stack of steel beams had been activated during the battle, and then the whole load had been swung at Saddler like a wrecking ball. Turning his head and looking toward the other side of the platform, Leon saw that the service elevator had come back up… so who was inside the crane?

Once the monster had been knocked down, the load of beams was lifted upward until it was directly over Saddler's spiderlike body, causing a screeching sound as the claw was released, sending the now separated load of beams to rain down onto the abomination until it was partially buried. The Agent was in bad shape, having difficulty both breathing and moving, as well as leaving a trail of blood wherever he went, so instead of trying to attack the monster while it was down, Leon used this time to try and get away.

He didn't get far, though, tripping over himself as his vision blurred, and falling on his face after taking only a few steps. Metal and steel was heard scraping and squeaking as Saddler started to recover, but then a shadow moved over him as someone walked past. It was Tobias… seeming to appear out of nowhere, and carrying one of the guards' submachine guns as he walked toward the monster. Saddler reacted to seeing the hooded man with a growl, seeming to forget about Leon for the moment, and getting even angrier when the bullets started flying.

"The claw!" Tobias screamed, looking toward the crane while peppering the monster's body with gunfire. "Ashley, the _claw_! The toggle switch on the right joystick! Hurry!"

"I'm _trying_ , damn it!" the young woman's voice called out from inside the crane as it jerked around rigidly. "I've never done this before!"

Had the Agent heard that properly? Was _Ashley Graham_ really at the controls of an industrial crane? Tobias continued to lead Saddler around, doing a much better job at avoiding its legs than Leon had done, but his rifle wasn't doing any better against it than the revolver had done. Suddenly Ashley screamed that _she got it_ , and then the crane's claw opened, dropping down onto the monster just as it was standing up, pinning it back down to the concrete.

The hooded man reloaded the rifle and aimed at Saddler's mostly human face, since the large eye within its mouth was partially exposed, but the thing just wouldn't hold still long enough for Tobias to get a shot off. He still tried, with most of the bullets bouncing off Saddler's armor, but then the mouth closed again while the abomination struggled against the crane. One of its legs managed to cut a hydraulic line, making the large machine lose some of its strength, and it was only going to be a matter of time before the monster was fully recovered.

"I know you're not doing so hot, kid, but take this." The hooded man said, pushing the rifle into Leon's hands just as he was managing to sit up. "I'm pretty sure the big eye's the weakness, so try not to hit me."

The Agent didn't understand what that meant, at least not until Tobias's eyes turned yellow and he ran toward the pinned monster. Ducking down to avoid a swing of its leg, the hooded man dove right onto the neck of its human looking face, wrapped himself around it like a wrestler performing full body submission hold, and then used his virus-increased strength to begin prying Saddler's jaw open with his hands. Leon's left hand was hurting so badly when he tried to hold the front of the rifle, struggling to aim before Tobias's temporary powers ran out… but then he became aware of someone calling his name.

"Leon!" The voice called again from on the arm of one of the other cranes. "Leon, I'm over here! You need to use _this_!"

It was Ada, but how had she gotten all the way up there with the elevator not available? Had the dark haired woman somehow climbed up the crane's supports? And what was that thing she was holding. Whatever it was, apparently it couldn't be used from where she was standing, so Ada tossed it down to the platform, allowing his to see that it was some kind of rocket launcher once it landed. The weapon itself was an _RPG_ like the one used to shoot down the helicopters, but the missile inside was… odd.

Reddish purple in color, with markings along the warhead that he didn't recognize, the Agent struggled to aim with this weapon after picking it up, just as badly as he had done with the rifle. Ashley's crane was rapidly losing power from the hydraulic leak, and there was no way that Tobias could hold on for much longer, with the way that Saddler's head was thrashing around. Its mouth was open though, with the hooded man exposing the weak point, and somehow Leon _knew_ that this was the only chance to end this.

So he did his best to aim, putting the scope's crosshairs right in the center of Saddler's exposed eye… and fired.


	67. Chapter 67 Go for Extraction

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Sixty Seven: Go for Extraction**

Maybe it had something to do with his injuries, or just the serious rush of adrenaline that Leon was experiencing as he fired the strange weapon, but everything seemed to slow down as the purple colored rocket was launched. It left a thick white trail of smoke as it soared across the platform, and it must have had some kind of homing abilities, because there was no way the Agent's arms were steady enough to hit right where Tobias was holding Saddler's largest eye open.

Regardless, the weapon struck home, causing the monster and the hooded man to vanish in an explosion of blue and purple fire that was actually silent for a second, before erupting in a _BOOM_ so loud that Leon had to cover his ears. Now the only thing that the Agent could hear was a loud ringing sound as he opened his eyes, seeing that the invincible Saddler had been reduced to a partially melted, twisted up remnant of the power he once possessed. The important thing was that the leader of _Los Illuminados_ was no longer moving… the battle was over.

Sighing with relief as he sunk back down to his hands and knees, Leon was relieved that both Ada and Ashley had been well clear of the blast, but… hey, what happened to Tobias? The hooded man had been right there when the rocket exploded, so the Agent came back up enough to look around, scanning the debris of broken machines and scattered stacks of steel beams, until he saw him. Tobias had somehow been thrown clear of the blast, but his clothes were mostly burned up… still, he was moving, so that was good news.

Actually, was it? With as much as the two of them had been working together during this mission, he had almost forgotten that Tobias Liquid was a terrorist who caused the outbreak on the Starlight in 2001, and maybe it would have been better for the world if the hooded man just died and was… no, Leon wasn't the kind of man to just let someone die like that. So he crawled across the concrete, reaching the badly burned hooded man just as he was using one of the machines at the edge of the platform to pull himself up.

"I'm okay, kid." The hooded man groaned, coughing while putting up his hand. "I'd stay back a bit if I were you."

In the light of the full moon, the Agent could see that Tobias's blood was dripping onto the concrete, which Leon was careful not to touch… not that he was really capable of helping Tobias up at this point. Now that the ringing in his ears had faded away completely, Leon could hear the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps, before someone was suddenly helping him to his feet, or at least trying to. They had to work together to get him standing, and once he was up, he saw that it was Ashley who was assisting him.

"Is it over, Leon?" The young woman asked, trying to keep him up. "Can we go home now?"

Leon nodded to her, but then his legs started to give out, so Ashley helped him get down to a kneeling position, and it was then that he noticed that she was holding something in her hand. It looked like a purple test tube with some kind of discolored growth inside, and when she saw him looking at it, the young woman explained that it had rolled out from under Saddler's robe after he was killed, and she thought it might be important.

"I think that's… the command plagas sample." The Agent said through labored breaths. "Luis said it's…

Suddenly his words were stopped when Ashley leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss on the lips before hugging him, leaving Leon just sitting there stunned. You know what, whatever, right now he just wanted everything to be done; the Agent just wanted to go home and have a beer or ten, and finally get some rest, but… why was he hearing gunshots? _Bang_! _Bang_! _Bang_! Both he and Ashley jumped a little when they saw the flashes of light that accompanied the sound, but apparently the target wasn't them.

The shooter was Ada, having climbed down from where she tossed the rocket launcher down from, and she had a pistol in her hand, firing off shot after shot… and each one aimed right at Tobias. The hooded man groaned as each bullet slammed right into his chest just as he was standing up, making him stumble backwards to the very edge of the platform while the dark haired woman closed in. He wobbled back and forth, clutching his chest while trying not to fall, but then Ada shot him one last time at point blank range, before spinning around and kicking him in the side of the head so that he fell from the top of the building.

"Give me the command plagas sample, Leon!" She ordered, spinning around and pointing the weapon at them just as Tobias fell from sight. "Roll the sample over here to me _right now_ , or the next one goes in _her_!"

"Are you… are you fucking _kidding_ me?!" The Agent demanded, choked for a second while Ashley hugged him out of fear. "Ada, come on, don't do this… you saw what these parasites… what they did to the people here."

Back in Raccoon City he had seen the same stern look in her eyes, meaning that Ada was prepared to do whatever she had to do in order to accomplish her mission. Now the dark haired woman was moving the barrel of her weapon just enough to be pointed at Ashley, and there was nothing Leon could do about that in his current state, so he sighed heavily before setting the sample on the pavement and rolling it over to her. Without taking her eyes off them, Ada picked up the purple vial, putting it into her pocket, before touching the ear piece she was wearing.

"Sample retrieved." She said coldly. "Go for extraction."

" _It's about damn time_." A voice on the other end replied. " _I'm almost out of fuel… deactivating stealth mode; ETA fifteen seconds_."

Suddenly all other noise was cancelled out by the sound of approaching helicopter rotors, and then the dark haired woman's ride seemed to fly in from out of nowhere. The vehicle must have been hovering silently behind one of the other nearby buildings, because it arrived there just as quickly as the pilot's voice claimed, kicking up wind and dust as it came down right on top of her. As soon as the helicopter was low enough, Ada climbed up onto the landing strut, swinging herself into the open side door, and then she blew Leon a kiss before the helicopter flew away again just as quickly.

He expected it to just keep going, but instead the vehicle stopped and turned toward the left, before launching a small missile across the island. The Agent watched the trail of smoke as the warhead flew right into the top of another building on the other side of the island, where the gigantic satellite dish on top of it was instantly destroyed in a flash of orange light. Okay, now the helicopter flew away, leaving Leon without an understanding of what Ada had just done, until his communicator started beeping.

" _Agent Kennedy? Leon, can you hear me_?" Hunnigan's voice said when he activated it, her image gradually becoming clear. " _The interference on our end just disappeared… can you hear me_?"

Replying that he could hear her, and having the operator acknowledge that she was receiving him was probably the best feeling he had gotten all day. Better still was that he was able to report complete mission success, and that he too was _go for extraction_. Hunnigan replied that it was going to be a little while, since _both_ helicopters that were on standby for that purpose had been shot down, since apparently one of the pilots had disobeyed orders and gone on a shooting spree.

"Oh, speaking of people shot down." The Agent continued as Ashley helped him into a sitting position. "I've got some bad news for the CIA; Agent Liquid's dead, at least I'm pretty sure this time. Tobias was an asshole, and a terrorist, but… he saved my life… a lot."

" _I'm sorry to hear that, Leon_." Hunnigan replied, taking off her glasses. " _He actually spoke very highly of you, and… well, I'm just glad he agreed to support you on this mission_."

Leon was surprised to find out that his operator knew about the hooded man's involvement, since he had been ordered to not interfere in the mission at all, but then she explained how she had become desperate after the first time the Agent got captured. The Agency and the President were refusing to send in backup, so Hunnigan went behind everyone's back and contacted Tobias. At first the hooded man had laughed at the idea of helping the man who killed his wife… so she made a deal.

" _It wasn't anything crazy or dangerous_." The operator explained, seeing Leon's reaction. " _All he wanted was his wife's remains transferred to his custody so that he could tend to them properly, which I guess means burying her. There wasn't much left, just a huge piece of inert crystalized material recovered from the Starlight… okay, chopper's inbound, ETA fifteen minutes_."

Again left speechless by what he was hearing and seeing, it took the Agent a second to be able to process the fact that Gillette's remains had been recovered and not left to sink to the bottom of the ocean like they should have been. His first reaction was to flip out and start screaming at his superiors like he had wanted to do when he found out that Tobias was still alive, but right now Leon was not mentally prepared for any more fighting… at least not until he had a shower, some food, and got to sleep in a real bed. Yeah, right now he just wanted to rest until the helicopter got there, and… oh wait, there was one more thing that he had almost forgotten about.

"Hunnigan, can you do me a favor real quick, since you're at your computer?" He asked. "This is gonna sound weird, but I need to know the definition of Military Discharge Code GLH."

" _Uh, yeah, okay… just a second_." Hunnigan answered, going silent for a second while typing could be heard. " _Doesn't seem to have much to do with you, but code GLH is defined as 'Separation from Service for reasons of Lack of Dependent Support'; like if a Soldier's wife dies and he doesn't have anyone to take care of his children while he's sent overseas, or if he becomes the sole guardian of an underage sibling with the same circumstances. Why did you need to know that_?"

Leon couldn't help but chuckle a little while telling her that there was no reason in particular, but now that he knew what that code meant, he realized how much sense it made for Chris Redfield to not want anyone, especially _Claire_ , to know why he was really kicked out of the Airforce. Tobias was right, she would have been devastated to know that _she_ was the reason why her brother had lost his Military career. No, the Agent wasn't going to tell her... if he ever even _saw_ Claire again… right now he was just going to rest… and close his eyes for a few minutes while waiting for the extraction helicopter.


	68. Chapter 68 Ada's Report

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Sixty Eight: Ada's Report**

 _Begin Report._

 _God, where do I even begin with trying to describe this 'bad horror film' of a mission? I suppose the very beginning will do just fine. I wasn't anywhere near Spain, actually taking a much needed vacation, when I was contacted by a man that I hadn't seen since Raccoon City. Albert Wesker was never the greatest guy to work for, in fact he's kind of an asshole if I'm being honest, but the crazy schemes he comes up with are always worth at least taking a look at… even though the survival rate of his operatives has, well… never been high._

 _I was pretty skeptical when he told me all about Saddler's cult, Los Illuminados, and the ancient parasites that they were using to take control of a town's entire population, but to be fair I was just as skeptical when I heard that a single strain of a virus was able to wipe out an entire city in less than two weeks. The mission was simple, at least it was supposed to be; I was to make contact with Dr. Luis Sera, who was giving me the sample Wesker wanted in exchange for helping him escape the region… simple, right?_

 _Aside from advising me to ring the church bell upon arrival, Wesker said it was up to me how I operated, and it was the craziest thing; as soon as I rang the bell, everyone in town became a blank slate, mindlessly lurching their way to the church like zombies while I entered the village unnoticed. Just when I was starting to think that this mission really was going to be as simple as walking in and grabbing Luis, I encountered an obstacle. My contact had been captured while trying to flee to the edge of the village, and being dragged away with him was none other than Leon Kennedy._

 _Surprised doesn't quite cover how I felt when I saw the Village Chief carrying him off, since I was sure Leon would have married that Redfield girl and adopted William Birkin's kid, but apparently I was wrong. I needed to get an Intel update on him before proceeding, and I was even more surprised to find out about the missions Leon had been on while working for the American Government… and then Wesker ordered me to kill him on sight… yeah, needed to avoid that one._

 _By the time I managed to track the location of my two targets, Luis and Leon had separated after escaping from their captors, and the first one I encountered was Luis. My hope was that I could simply extract him with the sample right there, but then he told me that he wasn't carrying the sample; mentioning that he had hidden it in some secret place his grandfather used for hunting, or some nonsense like that, so I figured we would go get it and then leave, but no… then I heard gunshots._

 _The people in the village didn't carry firearms, so I knew it was Leon getting himself into trouble when Luis said it was coming from Mendez's house. I told Luis to stay there while I took care of things, because I wasn't going to just leave Leon there to get killed, but of course the Spaniard didn't listen, vanishing once again while I got Leon out of a jam involving being trapped under a bookcase and being guarded by three villagers. My trail went cold after that, at least until a few hours later when I found Leon washed up on the shore of a lake next to… some kind of giant mutated fish… thing._

 _All I did was drag him into a nearby lake house where he would be safe, but what I didn't know was that there was a third outsider lurking around the village, one who was skilled enough to track me down from a footprint that I left in the mud. I was closing in on Luis's location, when suddenly a dart of all things struck me in the neck, causing me to black out. When I woke up I was tied to a chair in another part of the village, face to face with Tobias Liquid, one of Wesker's old comrades from the RPD._

 _He had already figured out who I was and who I worked for, showing that Wesker's description of this guy's detective skills was not exaggerated, nor was his drive to get what he wanted. With most men, it's an easy thing to wear them down by acting weak or playing to their ego, but Tobias's focus and discipline rivaled Wesker's, making it very clear to me that all he wanted was a way to contact my 'boss', as he put it, which didn't make any sense why he would want to._

 _In my line of work it's a big no-no to give up any details about your employer, especially contact information, but Tobias was… more than I was prepared for. In addition to physically hurting me wherever he was able to determine I had old injuries, he was able to get to me with details from my past that he was able to figure out just from watching me… I swear, if I didn't know such things were impossible, I would have thought he was psychic. I don't even want to think about the details of my interrogation, but I broke… I told him everything he wanted to know, I… I screamed Leon's name when the pain got too great, and then I broke down into a sobbing mess._

 _Tobias contacted Wesker, demanding an active sample of an old Umbrella chemical called C-008 in exchange for my life, but he knew that Wesker didn't care about me. However, what my employer did care about was how difficult his mission would be to accomplish if I was dead, so he agreed, and then once a delivery point was set, Tobias just left me there. By the time I was able to free myself and get my barings, Leon and Luis had retreated into Salazar Castle, which was probably the worst place for them to go… and of course they were captured again._

 _I was in pretty bad shape after the interrogation, and therefor unable to help Leon this time. In fact, I didn't see him again until he stumbled onto where I was hiding in an unused bedroom near the castle gardens. I was an incoherent mess, blubbering to him about not letting Tobias find me, and Leon… Leon's such a gentleman that he took care of me while I rested… a girl could fall in love with him pretty easily if she wasn't careful. It was only later after I woke up that I discovered Luis had been killed by Saddler, and that worse yet, he had taken the sample to his island fortress… seriously, how do lunatics like him get the funding for this stuff?_

 _As much as I wanted to help Leon save the US President's daughter, I had to focus on my own mission, which from that moment on meant finding a way to the island. This method of travel turned out to be a small boat that I found at the pier on the far end of the castle, and thankfully Leon showed up just when I discovered that I needed help fixing it. I knew that Tobias was still lurking around somewhere, so I sank the other boat once repairs were done, and then I steered us over to the island while Leon rested. He was adorable, resting his head on my shoulder while he slept, and smiling a little when I couldn't help giving him a kiss, but then he woke up just as we arrived, and I couldn't risk being seen with him._

 _The reasoning for this was because Wesker already had a man on the island… an idiot who after being told to gain Saddler's trust, took it upon himself to kidnap Ashley Graham. Jack Krauser was always a great Soldier, but nothing more and nothing less, with his worldview of seeing everything in the black and white extremes of good and evil getting annoying at times, especially with how twisted they were. Leon's presence and constant success had caused Saddler to doubt him, so Krauser's new strategy was to kill Leon… but I knew Wesker didn't care about disobeying a few orders as long as the mission succeeded._

 _I stopped Krauser from killing him during a fight in some factory, but I knew he would be back, so I followed Leon from a distance, and was shocked to see him being rescued at times by Tobias. Eventually, the two of them split up, and suddenly the whole island became a warzone involving helicopters and pretty much everything Saddler had left, but then it all boiled down to Leon and Krauser… and after the battle was over, I swooped in to finish things off. It felt really good to put a few bullets into Krauser's head, and even better to help Leon get to the laboratory where the parasites were removed from his body with moments to spare._

 _Saddler showed up just after the procedure was complete, and I think he was in some kind of fight with Tobias, because he was injured and angry while looking for him, but then we had to run away. I told Leon to keep Saddler distracted while I went back to another one of the island's laboratories where I had seen a prototype weapon being stored… I guess Luis's research into defending himself against the parasites extended beyond the electrical machine. This weapon worked like a charm, blowing Saddler's mutated body to bits, and I even got to throw Tobias off the top of a building before taking the sample from Leon._

 _Part of me wishes that I could have stayed there him, but honestly what kind of future could we have together? Leon is as straight-edge as they come, and I'm an international criminal, so it just wouldn't work. In order for me and Leon to have a chance, one of us would have to give up our entire lifestyle, and honestly the whole 'suburban housewife' thing just isn't my style. I couldn't help being a little jealous of Ashley Graham, though, with the way she was holding onto Leon, with nothing but love in her eyes while I had to escape onboard the helicopter._

 _Oh well, Luis, Krauser, and Tobias are dead, Leon is safe, and I have the sample… mission accomplished… returning to base. One thing bothers me though; why did Tobias want that sample from Wesker's vault? I know his powers let him feed on viruses, but then so what? He would get supercharged for a couple minutes, and then it would be gone? No… there had to be something else there… good thing I made sure his plans couldn't succeed… whatever they were._

 _End Report._


	69. Chapter 69 The Big Picture

**Las Plagas: Resident Evil IV**

 **Chapter Sixty Nine: The Big Picture**

"Son, what you have done is nothing short of miraculous." President Graham continued. "Not only did you single-handedly rescue my daughter and stop a madman from unleashing hell itself upon the world, but you've sent a clear message to all terrorist organizations that they shouldn't mess with the United States of America."

This speech had been going on for what felt like forever, but it wasn't like Leon had anywhere else to be at the moment, given that he was pretty much stuck in this hospital bed. After getting back to the US, it was discovered that the Agent's injuries were far more extensive and serious than believed, so he was all wrapped up like a mummy, and there he had been for the past week. This was the first time that old Graham had come to see him, though, and he brought Ashley, too, who was looking really pretty now that she was all cleaned up and wearing a nice dress.

"This country needs more men like you, son." The President continued while the camera crew that had followed him kept snapping pictures. "Real red-blooded patriotic Americans, who have nerves of steel, a backbone of cast iron, and a moral compass that will not be compromised no matter what."

As far as hospitals went, this one was pretty great; he had a view of the surrounding landscape through the windows of his room on the top floor, a large TV was mounted on the wall in the corner with the _Cartoon Network_ showing a _Scooby Doo_ marathon, and to top it all off, the food there wasn't too bad, either. The only downside was the concussion, cracked ribs, broken hand, cracked sternum, sprained ankle, anemia from loss of blood, second degree burns, and multiple lacerations that had to be stitched closed.

"Once you've rested up, there's gonna be a formal award ceremony." Graham kept going. "But for now your mission is to get better, so let's all give this young man some space… say goodbye, Ashley."

Just when the Agent thought that the President's speech was never going to end, Leon breathed a sigh of relief when he told everyone to say goodbye for now. So Ashley stepped forward, leaning over to give him what he thought was a kiss on the cheek, but instead it was on the lips… with tongue… and giving all of the photographers plenty to take pictures of during the ten seconds that it lasted for.

"Call me when you get out of here." The young woman whispered to him as the President ushered all the others out. "I'm _yours_ , Leon."

With as nice as that kiss was, and how tempting of a visual it was to hook up with Ashley after he was out of the hospital, suddenly a knot formed in the Agent's stomach when he saw the stern look on the President's face. The young woman slipped a piece of paper underneath the sheet before she stepped away, most likely containing her phone number, and hell, why not? Ada wasn't exactly in the picture, and Hunnigan had been surprisingly professional about turning him down, so why not go see Ashley later? Well… as long as Leon survived whatever the President had in store for him now.

"You and me are gonna have a talk, boy." Old Graham said quietly once his daughter left the room. "You best believe that."

Suddenly the door to the room opened again, with a doctor in surgical scrubs and a facemask walking in, followed by a really good looking nurse who was also in scrubs as she pushed the medicine cart. Immediately upon entering, the doctor demanded, in a really heavy German accent, to know who allowed visitors into his patient's room. The President tried to tell him who he was, but the doctor insisted that his patient needed rest, pretty much pushing old Graham out into the hallway, before closing the door and locking it.

" _Ah, und how are ve feeling, today, mein junge_?" The doctor asked, walking over to the bed. " _Are ve excited to do surgery for increasing die size of your anus_?"

"What?!" Leon exclaimed, trying to sit up, but being held down by his casts. "No, that's not what I'm…

The Agent stopped talking as both the doctor and nurse started to laugh, and then he had mixed feelings when the doctor pulled down his surgical mask to reveal that it was none other than Tobias Liquid, himself. Leon supposed that he shouldn't have been surprised to see him there, given how many times the _greatest detective in Raccoon City_ had supposedly been dead before. But what was he doing there… and in disguise? The man was a CIA Agent, not a wanted criminal, so why would he be hiding himself? Unless he wanted everyone to think he was really dead this time.

"I can't believe you fell for my accent, kid." Tobias continued, motioning for the nurse to come over. "You must be more out of it than I thought, but don't worry… my _wife_ can give you a little something for the pain, if you need it."

His wife? These words caught the Agent completely off guard, since the man's wife had been killed onboard the Starlight… but then Leon's heart monitor started going crazy once he got a good look at the nurse who was pushing the cart over to the bed. Except for the presence of Tobias instead of a roommate, and the fact that the gorgeous brunette woman was wearing scrubs instead of the classic white nurse's outfit, this whole scenario was just like the dream the Agent had while unconscious… but was this another dream… or was it all real?

"G… Gillette?!" He stammered as she smiled and waved to him. "But… but… but _how_?!"

"It's all thanks to _you_ , kid." The man replied, his eyes flashing yellow so brightly that they glowed for a second. "Or at least, your mission; see, your friend Ingrid Hunnigan was so worried about you that she agreed to give me my wife's crystalized remains in exchange for keeping you safe. Still, her body wasn't any good without an active sample of her own spores to restart everything, so I used your friend Ada Wong to bargain for that, and here we are… good thing, too, because the original plan was supposed to take _years_."

"And now we're all together again." Gillette said happily, giggling as she sat down on the bed next to Leon. "I'm so glad you and my husband are getting along so well these days, and now that we're all friends, I don't have to infect you… so yay for that."

Now everything was making sense; why Tobias had done so much to protect him throughout the mission, as well as the reasoning for his cruel treatment of Ada… it was all to get what he needed to bring Gillette back. The whole time that Leon had been so focused with rescuing Ashley and trying to stop Saddler's cult from taking over the world with ancient parasites, the yellow eyed man had been scheming to bring back the most powerful BOW to ever exist. Tobias had been right… the Agent had been so focused on what was right in front of him, that he never stopped to look around at the big picture.

He could have stopped it… at any moment he could have investigated what Tobias was doing, but he was so wrapped up in his own mission, that… that Gillette Liquid was now sitting right next to him, and she was _way_ more dangerous than her husband. The yellow eyed man went on to mention that it was a close call when Ada started shooting him, but thankfully he had been wearing a tactical vest under all those clothes just in case, and as for the fall from the tower, well… let's just say he didn't exactly reach the bottom.

"Tobias wanted to leave town right away." The brunette remarked, feeling Leon's head with the back of her hand, and then getting an ice pack from the cart. "But then I heard you got hurt in Spain, and I said that we just _had_ to come make sure you were all right."

The ice pack felt really good when she put it on his forehead, and the Agent couldn't help closing his eyes for a second. He was really hoping that when he opened them again, Tobias and Gillette would be gone; both of them still dead, and the President not about to kill him over what Ashley had chosen to do in front of the damn press. But no, not only were the Liquids still there in the room when he opened his eyes, but the brunette was putting a thermometer in his mouth.

"On top of everything else, you've got a bit of a fever, poor thing." She continued, getting up, and then going through the boxes of pills on the cart. "Here, these have fever reducer in them."

Not waiting to hear the protests that Leon was starting to say, Gillette put two of the pills into his mouth, and then poured in a small cup of water so that he had no choice but to swallow them. Tobias was checking his watch and pointing to it, so the brunette adjusted the ice pack so that it would stay on the Agent's head, before leaning over and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"We're going on a little vacation now." Tobias explained as she got up to join him. "Some place where nobody knows us, so you probably won't see us again for a long time… oh and don't try and sound the alarm. We would hate to have to infect the whole building, and just so you know, I destroyed pretty much all the P-Epsilon Gas in the world, so there's basically no defense against her."

"Bye, Leon." Gillette said, blowing him a kiss as they headed toward the door. "Get lots of rest, and feel better soon, okay?"

With that they were gone, but the Agent's heart monitor was still beeping just as quickly. This was supposed to be a happy time, with his mission being a success and Ashley safe at home, but… but now all Leon could think about was all the people who had been infected by C-Spores onboard the Starlight. Soon the two of them would leave the hospital and escape to anywhere, but if he sounded the alarm it would be like the cruise ship all over again… so what was he supposed to do? What _could_ he do?


End file.
